Mariners' Gabe Speier: Takes second loss Saturday

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Speier (0-2) was charged with the loss against the Nationals on Saturday, allowing two earned runs on two hits over one-third of an inning.

Entrusted with preserving a 1-1 tie when he entered in the seventh, Speier induced an inning-opening groundout from Luis Garcia before surrendering back-to-back singles to Jesse Winker and Keibert Ruiz, as well as a steal to the former. Trent Thornton took over at that point and subsequently allowed both inherited runners to score, leading to Speier eventually being charged with the loss. The 29-year-old Speier has now turned in three straight outings where he's allowed two earned runs while recording just one out, and he's conceded 10 runs overall across four innings in May. The veteran southpaw was a reliable bullpen fixture over the previous three seasons for the Royals and Mariners, but his current struggles may be exhausting the slack his previous body of work has earned him.