Watchpoints: The King looks to continue his recent roll

Even if a changing of the guard is in progress atop the Mariners’ rotation, as growing evidence suggests, it’s hard to envision how the club makes a serious postseason push without a revived Felix Hernandez.

The recent trend is encouraging.

Hernandez (5-4) enters his start Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox on a streak of three vintage performances in which he held opponents to two earned runs and 11 hits over 18 innings while striking out 22 and walking five.

"I’m healthy and feeling good," he said recently. "That’s what happens when you have good stuff."

The Mariners’ hope is that Hernandez, after missing nearly two months because of bursitis in his shoulder, is now rounding back into form. The last three starts dropped ERA from 5.04 to 3.88.

"Nothing’s out of the question when you’re talking about guys who have been to the top of the mountain," general manager Jerry Dipoto said. "He just needs to figure out where he is stuff-wise and how to apply the stuff that he has. Because he still has plenty.

"He’s still up to 93 miles an hour. He’s got a nasty changeup. His breaking balls work…all the elements are there.

"He just needs to reinvent how he puts the pitches in order, and I trust that he has enough pride in what he does and enough care about his legacy that he’ll figure that out. He’s been too good not to."

Other watchpoints:

***Boston is starting lefty Drew Pomeranz (10-4, 3.51) when the three-game series continues at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday at Safeco Field. The Mariners pursued a trade last winter for Pomeranz in an effort to bolster their rotation before eventually acquiring Drew Smyly from Tampa Bay.

***Prized Boston prospect Rafael Devers, a third baseman, is expected to make his major-league debut. Devers, 20, spent most of the season at Double-A Portland before a nine-game run at Triple-A Pawtucket prior to his promotion.

***Baseball America recently rated Devers as the No. 6 overall prospect in its revised mid-season rankings.

***Hernandez is 8-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 18 career starts against the Red Sox. He was on the disabled list earlier this season when the teams played a three-game series in Boston.

***Pomeranz is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 12 career appearances against the Mariners, although nine outings came as a reliever. His experience at Safeco is limited: eight innings over three games in which he allowed three runs.

***Dustin Pedroia is 14-for-47 (.298) in his career against Hernandez, while long-time Ranger Mitch Moreland is 10-for-50 (.200). Brock Holt is 3-for-15, and Hanley Ramirez is 3-for-11. No other Boston player has more than eight career at-bats against Hernandez.

***Robinson Cano is 2-for-11 in his career against Pomeranz, while Kyle Seager is 2-for-9 with a home run. No other Mariner has more than six career at-bats against Pomeranz.

***Ben Gamel enters the game with an 11-game hitting streak, which is his third double-digit streak of the season. His best was a 15-game run from June 9-24. His .323 average ranks third in the American League.

***Jean Segura nudged his average up to .329 by ending an 0-for-15 skid Monday when he went 1-for-3. That ranks second in the league but 36 points behind Houston’s Jose Altuve (.365).

***The Mariners (50-51) enter play Tuesday trailing Kansas City (51-47) by 2 1/2 games in the race for the American League’s final wild-card berth. They must also leap past Tampa Bay (51-49) and Minnesota (49-49) to get to the Royals.

***Nelson Cruz went hitless Monday in three at-bats but still leads the league with 75 RBIs. New York right fielder Aaron Judge is second with 73. Cano is tired for seventh with 66.

TIME CAPSULE

It was 26 years ago Tuesday — July 25, 1991 — that Jay Buhner hit the longest home run ever recorded in the post-1975 reconfiguration of the old Yankee Stadium.

Buhner’s drive was a two-run shot in the second inning against Wade Taylor and spurred the Mariners to a 6-3 victory. The ball traveled an estimated 479 feet over the ambulance that was always parked in the left-center field entryway.

Bob Dutton: @TNT_Mariners

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Watchpoints: The King looks to continue his recent roll."