Young ace checks A’s
OAKLAND, Calif. – The Seattle Mariners had one complaint with Felix Hernandez: He tried to barehand another ball. Manager John McLaren will discuss it with him.
Hernandez found success with all four of his pitches and commanded the inside of the plate, throwing his first complete game in more than a year to lead the Mariners past the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Wednesday night.
“It was a great game. In the eighth inning, he asked me how I felt and I said, ‘I’m good,’ ” Hernandez said. “What’s it mean? It’s good. It means a lot for the pitchers.”
Hernandez struck out eight in an eight-hitter, retiring 16 of 18 during one stretch. He threw 115 pitches in a game that took only 2 hours, 9 minutes.
Jose Vidro hit a two-run double off Joe Blanton, Adrian Beltre doubled twice and drove in a run, and Raul Ibanez had three hits, an RBI and scored twice for Seattle.
Hernandez (2-0) lowered his ERA from 1.66 to 1.52. He already held a 3-0 lead when he took the mound in the bottom of the first, then went out and showed that he can be the ace of the Mariners’ staff with Erik Bedard on the disabled list.
Bobby Crosby scored on an error by shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt in the second for Oakland’s first run. Betancourt threw wildly past first base for an error on Kurt Suzuki’s infield single, a ball that hit Hernandez’s hand before Betancourt fielded it.
“Obviously, we don’t like the bare hand stuck out there,” McLaren said. “Let’s just say we’ll talk to him again.”
After that hit, Hernandez retired 13 of his next 14 batters and didn’t allow another hit until Jack Cust’s single to start the seventh. Hernandez improved to 7-2 with a 2.10 ERA in his nine starts against the A’s, his most wins versus any club.
“That was one of the best pitched games I’ve seen. He was tough,” Oakland manager Bob Geren said.
The A’s got three hits off Hernandez in the eighth, including Daric Barton’s two-out RBI single. Hernandez then retired Mike Sweeney on a called third strike after falling behind 3-0 to finish his strong outing. The right-hander – who didn’t give up an earned run in either of his first two starts but got no-decisions – pitched his first complete game since a 3-0 win at Boston on April 11, 2007.
“He’s grown up a lot this past year,” Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima said through a translator. “He still gets very emotional. That’s his pitching style and that’s good. If he can control his emotions, he will become one of the best pitchers in the major leagues. When I was 20, I couldn’t control my emotions either. It’s something you learn from experience.”
Putz nears return
J.J. Putz threw off a mound for the second time in a week, but the Mariners still aren’t certain when they’ll activate their All-Star closer from the disabled list.
Putz, sidelined with a ribcage injury since April 1, threw 41 pitches during a 10-minute bullpen session before Seattle’s game at Oakland and reported no problems.
“Everything felt good,” said Putz, who is 0-1 with one save and a 9.00 ERA this season. “I was a lot more sharp today than the first time.”
Notes
The Mariners recalled reliever Brandon Morrow from Double-A West Tenn to fill the roster spot left open when Bedard went to the D.L. on Tuesday with hip inflammation. … The A’s returned right-hander Fernando Hernandez, a Rule 5 draft pick, to the Chicago White Sox.