Felix Hernandez melts down after rain in Mariners’ 7-2 loss to Yankees

SEATTLE – If it gets worse than this for the Seattle Mariners, then look out. On Monday, even the weather and their own ballpark seemed to conspire against them in a 7-2 loss to the New York Yankees.

Felix Hernandez didn’t even make it through the fifth inning, a five-run fifth inning, despite powering through the first three frames in a mere 21 pitches.

Mark Teixeira delivered the decisive punch, a grand slam, but Hernandez also issued five walks in a stunning meltdown that saw him throw 64 pitches in the fourth and fifth innings.

What happened?

The Yankees, certainly. But Hernandez was never the same after a rainstorm wet down the field, specifically the mound, before the Safeco Field roof could close in the bottom of the third inning.

Neither the rain nor anything else – least of all the Mariners – did much to bother New York right-hander Michael Pineda, the one-time Mariner facing his former club for the first time.

Pineda (7-2) overmatched the Mariners’ increasingly feeble attack through six shutout innings before hitting a wall in a two-run seventh. Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances and Chasen Shreve closed it.

But boy, the soft mound sure ruffled the King, who gave up seven runs on six hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings. His ERA spiked from 1.91 to 2.63.

Consider: Hernandez (8-2) breezed through the first inning in six pitches, the second in nine pitches and needed just six more in the third inning.

The rain started as the Mariners were batting in the third, and the Safeco roof began cranking shut. The process, the Mariners said, takes 12 to 17 minutes.

It wasn’t fast enough to prevent an abdication that sent the Mariners (24-27) to a third straight defeat.

Hernandez, after going nine up and down, began the fourth by yielding a single to Brett Gardner.

Then it got messy in a hurry as Hernandez fought a losing battle with the soft mound. He called for a flat stick at one point, to help pry the mud from his spikes. It didn’t seem to help.

Chase Headley punched a single to center and Gardner, running on the 3-2 pitch, reached third. A wild pitch scored Gardner.

Hernandez then loaded the bases by walking Alex Rodriguez and Teixeira. The Yankees got another run on Brian McCann’s double-play grounder to second.

After still another walk, his third of the inning, Hernandez retired Didi Gregorius on a grounder to first. A 31-pitch inning … after working the first three in just 21.

Hernandez’s struggles deepened in the fifth inning, which he began by walking Stephen Drew, a .156 hitter, after being ahead 1-2 in the count. Ramon Flores, a .125 hitter, followed with a single to right.

After a walk to Gardner loaded the bases with no outs, Headley’s soft liner to left scored Drew for a 3-0 lead. Rodriguez’s single through the left side reloaded the bases.

Hernandez fell behind Teixeira before floating a 2-0 cookie – a sinker that didn’t sink. Teixeira sent a 407-foot rocket to right for a grand slam and a 7-0 lead.

It was Teixeira’s sixth career homer against Hernandez, who stayed a bit longer before departing after Carlos Beltran’s two-out double.