M’s hope to have Iwakuma back in three weeks

SEATTLE –  It appears Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma is dealing with just a minor strain in a back muscle, and he hopes to return to the mound in roughly three weeks.

“It’s a mild strain,” he said Saturday after undergoing two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams in the last 24 hours.

“I’m allowed to play catch starting next Friday. So, hopefully, in two-to-three weeks I should be able to pitch – being optimistic.”

The Mariners placed Iwakuma on the 15-day disabled list prior to Friday’s series opener against Minnesota because of a strained back muscle – specifically a strained right latissimus dorsi muscle.

Iwakuma was an All-Star in 2013 and won 15 games last season, but he struggled this year in allowing 13 runs and 20 hits over 16 1/3 innings in his three starts.

His poor performances, he insisted, were not connected to the injury, which he said occurred while playing long toss Tuesday.

King zeroes in

Felix Hernandez recorded his 10th career shutout Friday in a 2-0 victory over the Twins in the series opener, which moved him into sole possession of second place on the Mariners’ all-time list.

Randy Johnson had 19 shutouts from 1989-98. Hernandez moved past Mark Langston (1984-89) and Mike Moore (1982-88), who each had nine shutouts.

Rare feat in A.L.

There had been no complete games by starting pitchers in the A.L. until Friday’s game at Safeco Field produced two – Seattle’s Hernandez and Minnesota’s Phil Hughes.