SEATTLE _ Francisco Rodriguez maintains that there is nothing wrong with him, physically, after he gave up two runs (one earned) in the bottom of the 15th inning of a 6-5 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday night.
"Oh, yeah, I'm good," Rodriguez said after taking a loss in his second straight appearance. "I'm fine."
His recent results would suggest otherwise. In five appearances this month, he has allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over four innings. He has walked three and struck out one.
Before the All-Star break, he had a 2.93 ERA and held opponents to a .206 batting average. He allowed two home runs over 30 2/3 innings, with 30 strikeouts.
Since the All-Star break, he is 1-3 with one blown save and a 4.09 ERA. Opponents are batting .286 against him, and he has surrendered three home runs over 11 innings, with eight strikeouts.
"There's nothing wrong with him," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Tuesday. "His outings weren't as sharp the last couple of times, but those can happen over the course of the year. He's been pretty darn good all year long."
On Tuesday, K-Rod allowed two hits and a walk as the Mariners came back in the 15th inning.
"I made a lot of mistakes all over the plate, mostly in," he said. "Balls up. ... It's time for me now to make adjustments and try to find a way to turn the page and make sure I'm ready for tomorrow."
