Muscle strain will cost Hernandez 2-3 starts

SEATTLE – Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez will likely miss two to three starts with a muscle strain inside his right elbow and forearm.

Mariners medical director Dr. Ed Khalfayan said Thursday that the 21-year-old right-hander will not throw for five days, then will play catch.

Hernandez had allowed just four hits in 17 scoreless innings – including a one-hitter at Boston last week – before he left his start Wednesday night against Minnesota after just one-third of an inning. He allowed three runs, walked two, threw a wild pitch that scored a run, then waived trainers out to the mound to remove him from the game.

If Hernandez had continued to pitch with the strain, he could have required elbow-ligament surgery.

Hernandez was in good spirits and joking in the clubhouse three hours before Thursday’s game, repeatedly saying, “I’m fine,” and then refusing to say anything else.

Manager Mike Hargrove said the team has discussed who would start in Hernandez’s absence, but he was not ready to say whom.