Mariners' Felix Hernandez Dazzles in 11th Win, Drops ERA to 2.30

SEATTLE -- He didn't make the American League All-Star team and he may not get tons of support in the Cy Young voting, but Felix Hernandez is having the kind of year pitchers would die for.

Hernandez, the tower of strength in Seattle these days, threw eight shutout innings against Cleveland Sunday in a 3-0 win. It was his 21st consecutive start of seven or more innings, and the fourth time in the last six starts in which he didn't allow a run.

The 24-year-old right-hander leads the American League in innings (219 1/3) and strikeouts (209) and is second to Boston's Clay Buchholz in ERA, 2.30 to Buchholz's 2.25. This is a guy who has a chance to finish first in three of pitching's four major statistical categories.

"That would be nice," Hernandez told FanHouse. "But it's not something I'm thinking about right now. I just want to go out every game and give the team a chance to win."

Ah, winning. That's the one major category where he won't be anywhere close to the AL leaders. He has just 11 wins -- eight behind league-leader C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees -- due in large part to a moribund Seattle offense that averages just 3.17 runs per game for him. He has 10 losses and in eight of the 10 the Mariners have scored either one or zero runs. In one loss they scored two for him. In the other, three.

That's 10 games in which the Mariners have scored 10 runs total for Hernandez. And yet he keeps on throwing up zeroes inning after inning. He's thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings his last two starts. He's had six starts in which he hasn't allowed any runs this season and another two in which he hasn't allowed any earned runs. There are four more starts where he's given up just two runs.

"It's one of those bizarre years when we can't score for (Felix). ... But he still goes out and shoves it up people's (rears), game after game."
-- Russell Branyan "He's having just an incredible year, and it's a year when we haven't given him a ton of support," DH Russell Branyan said Sunday. Branyan homered, doubled and drove in two of the three Seattle runs Sunday. "It's one of those bizarre years when we can't score for him.

"But he still goes out and shoves it up people's (rears), game after game."

Hernandez got a run in the second inning when rookie center fielder Michael Saunders brought home a 1-0 lead with an infield out. As it would happen, that was all that Hernandez would need, and he could feel it at the time, too.

"I said, 'OK, we've got a lead. Now I've got to go and do my job,'" Hernandez said. "That's all I can control; that's all any pitcher can control. Going out, throwing strikes and getting as many zeroes as you can. That's what pitching is."

Cleveland manager Manny Acta said he knew going in that Sunday had a chance to be a tough day with Hernandez on the other side.

"Felix was just way too much for us; we are not a very good matchup with him," Acta said. "We are second in the league in strikeouts and he's is on top of the league in strikeouts. He was tough. Typical Felix."

Yes, it was typical Felix. He has 27 quality starts in 30 tries, and the last 17 have come in succession. In his last six starts he's 4-1 with a 0.20 ERA.

He finished second in the AL Cy Young Award balloting last year, but this year, well ...

"I think I've been better this year," he said. "I feel better."