Seattle Mariners starter Jeremy Bonderman was looking to rebound from a 2013 debut against the Minnesota Twins which saw him surrender seven earned runs, and he delivered in a big way during a 4-1 victory on Friday night.
Taking on the near-anemic offense of the Yankees, Bonderman struggled in the opening frame and eventually conceded a run on a Travis Hafner ground out. It would be the last real scoring opportunity the New York Yankees would have in a game where Bonderman pitched mostly to soft contact.
The journeyman starter delivered six innings and gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out only two batters. with two of the four base runners in the aforementioned opening frame. The Mariners would use three relievers to finish the final three innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out an additional four batters.
New York’s 1-0 lead held up until a disasterous fourth inning. Hiroki Kuroda loaded the bases after back to back walks with two outs, then surrendered two run singles to Brendan Ryan and Jason Bay, allowing a 1-0 lead with two outs to turn into a 4-1 deficit and the eventual final score.
With the loss the Yankees fall to 35-26, an even two games behind the AL East division leading Red Sox. The Mariners, who are now 3-2 against New York this year, improve to 27-35 as they maintain fourth place in the AL West.
