Felix Hernandez denied in bid for 19th victory

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Felix Hernandez’s push for his first 20-victory season stalled at the wall Saturday night before the Mariners tumbled late in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

The end came in a flash: David Freese led off the ninth with a home run to center against Danny Farquhar (1-5) for a walk-off victory.

“I was trying to go in(side) right there,” Farquhar said. “I left it over the plate, and he got to it. It just kind of ran over the plate and caught too much plate. Freese is a good hitter, and he got to it.”

The game, however, turned in the fourth inning.

Hernandez and the Mariners had a 2-1 lead after the King wiggled out of a couple of nasty jams. The M’s had two runners on base when Jesus Montero sent a drive to deep center field.

Mike Trout retreated to the warning track, timed his jump and reached over the wall to pull the ball back into the park for a magnificent catch.

“I forgot who was the center fielder,” Montero said. “I thought, ‘Oh, that’s going to be gone for sure. Then I saw Trout going to the wall, and I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on right here?’ Then I just walked to the dugout.”

Instead of a three-run homer, it was just an out. Instead of a 5-1 lead for Hernandez, it remained a one-run lead. Trout’s catch stunned everyone; the runners didn’t even advance.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I could catch it,” Trout said. “Once I got up to the wall and then I looked back up at it, I said, ‘Man, I’ve got a chance to catch this ball.’ ”

L.A. starter Andrew Heany then retired the next two hitters, which permitted the Angels to pull even when C.J. Cron crushed a 1-1 sinker from Hernandez for a leadoff homer in the sixth inning.

“That was a sinker that stayed in the middle of the plate,” Hernandez said. “It was a mistake by me. We should have won this game. Mike Trout. What do you expect? It was an unbelievable catch.”

Cron’s ball cleared the shrubbery beyond the center-field wall.

It stayed 2-2 through the sixth. Both teams went to their bullpen in the seventh. Hernandez (18-9) and Heaney got no-decisions. Since Hernandez has just one more start, it appears 20 victories are out of reach.

“You’re disappointed,” he said. “I want to get to 20 every year. What are you going to do? You’ve just got to work harder and be ready for next season. I’m not done yet.”

Hernandez also entered the game needing 4 1/3 innings to reach 200 for an eighth straight season and 15 strikeouts to reach 200 for a seventh straight season (he now needs nine).