M’s mangling King’s crown

CHICAGO – Nights like this one are the reason Felix Hernandez is not right at the top of every Cy Young Award discussion.

Hernandez took it all in stride after his Mariners were beaten, 6-1, by the Chicago White Sox in a Monday night clash in which Seattle’s offense again failed to show up. Only four of the runs were allowed by Hernandez over his seven-inning performance and two probably should have been unearned after a non-error call on a ground ball messed up by third baseman Jose Lopez.

What it adds up to is a shockingly pedestrian 7-7 won-lost record for Hernandez despite the league’s second-best earned-run average at 2.86.

“I don’t worry about wins and losses,” said Hernandez, who trails only the 2.56 ERA of former teammate Cliff Lee, now with Texas. “I just want to do my job. Pitch my game. It’s not that difficult.”

In fairness, Hernandez could have had two more earned runs tacked on to his total had Ichiro not made a leaping catch at the right-field wall to rob Mark Kotsay of a two-run homer in the sixth. But the bottom line remains what it always has been: Hernandez’s team doesn’t score enough runs for him.

The Mariners have seven runs total during his seven losses this season. They have scored just once in his last 22 innings on the mound against the White Sox and were manhandled by left-hander John Danks for the first eight innings of this one.

The lone Mariners run came when Michael Saunders doubled and scored on a Jack Wilson single to open the scoring in the third. But the crowd of 38,815 at sold-out U.S. Cellular Field didn’t have to wait long for a reply, as Lopez’s one-out muff of an Alexei Ramirez grounder to his right got the home team going in the bottom of the frame.

With two out, Ramirez stole second, then scored on a Juan Pierre single. Pierre took second on the throw to the plate, then scored on a single by Omar Vizquel.

They were the first runs scored by the White Sox off Hernandez after he’d blanked them for 25 consecutive innings dating back to 2008. And the two runs were enough against a Mariners squad that – even in beating the Red Sox twice over the weekend – has had trouble doing much of anything the first seven innings of games all season long.

Paul Konerko increased the lead with a solo homer in the sixth. Then, after Ichiro robbed Kotsay, back-to-back doubles by A.J. Pierzynski and Ramirez added a run for a 4-1 lead.

Brian Sweeney took over from Hernandez to start the eighth and gave up the final two runs.

Hernandez is first or second in most top pitching categories, but has one fewer win than reliever Brandon League. The 16-win total for Cy Young winner Zack Greinke last year was a stretch for some Cy Young voters – meaning Hernandez’s lack of victories could leave him little chance in a close race, even though his own team’s offense is mostly to blame.

“It’s one of those games where we talk about not having enough run support,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “Especially for a pitcher like Felix. I thought he battled all game long.”

Wakamatsu said Ramirez was given “a questionable hit” on the third-inning ball that bounced off Lopez’s backhand. “Without that, he’s out of the inning 1-2-3.”

Lopez told Hernandez he should have had the ball. Going to his right has been the most difficult adjustment for Lopez since he moved from second base.

“It’s only a little problem I’m having from that side,” said Lopez, who made a much better play ranging to his left later. “But I was playing second base and now I’m playing third. After the season’s over, I’ve got to go and work on that side.”

Lopez said the backspin on the ball as it came up toward his glove is what did him in.

In the end, the team’s biggest problem wasn’t his glove. It was the inability to cash in against Danks. Seattle’s final chance came with two on and one out in the eighth, down 4-1, but Chone Figgins grounded into a double play.

“I don’t know what happens,” Lopez said. “Sometimes you get a base-hit RBI, sometimes you get the bases loaded with nobody out and we don’t score. That’s happened to the team. To everybody. Not one guy. To everybody. I think everybody’s trying too hard. We all want to get RBI for the team.”

And for Hernandez. With two months to go, he’ll need plenty of runs – and wins – in a hurry to become part of the Cy Young conversation and avoid having his other big numbers go to waste.

White Sox 6, Mariners 1

Seattle	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
I.Suzuki rf	4	0	2	0	0	0	.310
Figgins 2b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.230
F.Gutierrez cf	4	0	0	0	0	1	.246
Jo.Lopez 3b	4	0	1	0	0	0	.236
Kotchman 1b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.221
Bradley dh	2	0	0	0	1	1	.205
M.Saunders lf	3	1	1	0	0	0	.242
Ro.Johnson c	3	0	1	0	0	1	.195
Ja.Wilson ss	3	0	1	1	0	0	.256
Totals	31	1	6	1	1	3

Chicago	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg.
Pierre lf	5	1	3	2	0	0	.255
Vizquel 3b	3	0	1	1	2	0	.277
Rios cf	4	0	1	0	0	2	.311
Konerko 1b	4	1	1	1	0	1	.298
Quentin rf	3	0	2	0	1	0	.240
An.Jones pr-rf	0	1	0	0	0	0	.203
Kotsay dh	4	0	1	0	0	0	.221
Lillibridge pr-dh	0	1	0	0	0	0	.407
Pierzynski c	3	1	1	1	0	0	.236
Al.Ramirez ss	4	1	3	1	0	0	.282
Beckham 2b	4	0	0	0	0	0	.236
Totals	34	6	13	6	3	3

Seattle	001	000	000—1	6	0
Chicago	002	002	02x—6	13	0

LOB—Seattle 4, Chicago 8. 2B—M.Saunders (8), Pierzynski (18), Al.Ramirez (17). HR—Konerko (22), off F.Hernandez. RBIs—Ja.Wilson (13), Pierre 2 (21), Vizquel (18), Konerko (68), Pierzynski (29), Al.Ramirez (37). SB—Bradley (8), Pierre (36), Vizquel (5), Al.Ramirez (5). CS—Quentin (1). SF—Pierzynski. RLSP—Seattle 2; Chicago 5. DP—Seattle 1; Chicago 2.

Seattle	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
F.Hernandez L, 7-7	7	9	4	4	3	3	2.86
B.Sweeney	1	4	2	2	0	0	4.86

Chicago	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Danks W, 11-7	8	6	1	1	1	2	3.23
S.Santos	1	0	0	0	0	1	1.74

T—2:24. A—38,815 (40,615).