Jeremy Guthrie made his return to the starting rotation tonight, making his first start since taking over from Danny Duffy. With his performance, he may not get a second start, as the Seattle Mariners hammered Guthrie in handing the KC Royals an 11-2 loss.
The Mariners got to Guthrie early, as his penchant for giving up the longball to Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano to put the Royals in an early 2-0 hole. Kansas City appeared as though they would come right back in the bottom of the inning, putting runners on first and third with one out, but Eric Hosmer lined out to short and Kendrys Morales struck out to end the threat.
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Seattle exploded against Guthrie in the third. Ketel Marte tripled, and scored as Hosmer completely missed his backhanded attempt at Seager’s ground ball. After a base hit, Cano crushed a three run home run into the fountains in right center. The Mariners followed by putting runners on the corners, and Jesus Montero drove in another run on a fielder’s choice. However, Guthrie’s nightmare was not quite over, as Brad Miller followed with a blast to deep right to end the hurler’s night and give Seattle a 9-0 lead.
The Mariners added two more in the fourth against Miguel Almonte. After a two out walk, Montero homered off the brick wall in center, giving the Mariners a comfortable 11-0 lead.
Kansas City got on the board in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs. Francisco Pena hit a slow chopper to short that Marte was unable to handle, giving the Royals their first run of the night. Alcides Escobar had an RBI single with two outs in the ninth, but it was not close to enough as the Mariners routed the Royals 11-2.
Guthrie took the loss, allowing nine runs, eight earned, on nine hits in 2.1 innings. He struck out two, and allowed four home runs. At this point, it may be fair to wonder if Guthrie ever sets foot on the mound again while in a KC Royals uniform.
Escobar was the lone bright spot tonight, as he went 3-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the loss.