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Mariners' Hisashi Iwakuma: Experiences control issues in Friday's start

Iwakuma (0-2) struck out three and gave up three earned runs on five hits and four walks over 5.1 innings in a 3-1 loss to the Athletics on Friday.

Analysis:

Iwakuma seemed to get progressively worse as spring training wound down. Many of those problems have now crept into the regular season, with Friday's outing being the latest example. Although the veteran right-hander wasn't shelled by any means, he did surrender home runs to Trevor Plouffe and Yonder Alonso in back-to-back innings while throwing 84 pitches, only 44 of which found the strike zone. Iwakuma also issued multiple free passes for the third time in four trips to the mound this season, and has now yielded nine earned runs on 12 hits -- including three homers -- and four walks over the 8.1 innings encompassing his last two starts. He'll look to straighten things out in a Wednesday road start versus the Tigers.

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