Hiroki Kuroda has another iffy start in Yankees' 4-2 loss

NEW YORK – Hiroki Kuroda never had a regular-season start in the majors like the one at Yankee Stadium last Friday night when he served up a career-worst eight runs and 10 hits, failing to make it to the other side of the fifth inning.

His ERA soared to 5.28 through five starts. He was OK before that bad one, nothing spectacular, nothing terrible. But that less-than-angelic outing against the Angels raised concerns, especially since Kuroda is 39 and closed last season by going 0-6 with a 6.56 ERA over his final eight starts.

Kuroda was back to being so-so Thursday night against the Mariners. But so-so wasn't good enough the way Roenis Elias was throwing in his sixth career start and first against the Yankees. The rookie lefty fanned a career-high 10 in seven innings, and Seattle swept the abbreviated two-game series with a 4-2 win.

"I thought he used his fastball and his curveball really effectively," Joe Girardi said. "Pretty good stuff by that young man."

This marked the Mariners' first sweep of the Yankees in 12 years. This also marked the Yankees' third loss in five games on this now eight-game homestand, dropping them to 15-12.

"We know we're going to hit," Carlos Beltran said. "We know we're going to play better. It's going to come."

Girardi hopes it will come for Kuroda, calling this start "a step in the right direction."

While Elias (2-2) allowed two runs — only one of them earned — and six hits, Kuroda (2-3) gave up four runs — three of them earned — and seven hits through four innings, then closed with a pair of 1-2-3 innings.

"Right now, my breaking balls are not working," Kuroda said through an interpreter. "That is leading me to struggle."

Stefen Romero singled with one gone in the first, and Robinson Cano stepped in to the sound of boos ringing in his helmet again from his former fans. Cano answered loudly by pulling an RBI double into right.

"You have to understand the fans, but it is not going to be a distraction for me," Cano said.

Jacoby Ellsbury got the run back for Kuroda in the bottom half, opening the inning with his first homer as a Yankee.

"Too bad it couldn't come in a win," Ellsbury said.

But Cano put Seattle ahead again in the third by hitting into a force at second. It was an unearned run thanks to a Derek Jeter error.

Then Kyle Seager led off the fourth with a single. Kuroda walked Dustin Ackley on a full count. And with two outs, Brad Miller lined a soft RBI single into left. Michael Saunders followed with a rocket to left-center that bounced over the fence for an RBI ground-rule double, and it was 4-1.

The Yankees, meanwhile, struck out three times in one inning twice against Elias. The 25-year-old Cuban finally gave up another run in the sixth on a single by Brian McCann. But McCann and several other Yankees have really yet to get in the swing of things.

"I believe it's going to get better as the year goes on," Girardi said. "But right now we're struggling to score runs, and every team goes through that."

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