Felix gave Mariners a chance, their offense, defense and bullpen didn’t
Felix Hernandez hugged Mike Zunino, gave his pitching coach a fist bump and made his way out of the Safeco Field bullpen just before first pitch, with the legs of his pants hiked up to show his knee-high socks.
He had to know this was a make-or-break start, even if he wouldn’t admit such, as he approached the mound, kicking the dirt from in front of the rubber before tossing his first pitch with a career-high 5.58 ERA to his name. He didn’t need to be the King of old, he needed to be competitive.
It was arduous and a few times almost fell apart on him, but he needed numbers and those were five innings and two runs allowed, even if it took 92 pitches to do so.
“I was just trying to help the team win,” Hernandez said. “That was all. I wasn’t thinking about anything else.”
But in vintage Felix Hernandez, the Mariners had about no offense behind him.
Outside of two home runs from Nelson Cruz, they had nothing else, even against a pitcher the Toronto Blue Jays added just that day being released by the Astros earlier in the week. Seattle lost, 4-2, on Thursday to drop a half-game back of the Oakland Athletics for the American League’s final playoff spot.
That last playoff season of 2001 is staring Seattle square in the face. And there’s 53 games to go for the now 63-46 Mariners of 2018.
The Mariners had 10 hits but went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
There was no “that’s baseball” or any similar sentiment from Mariners manager Scott Servais afterward.
“I hate to say it – but you got to make your own luck sometimes,” Servais said. “We got to keep grinding and we got to show up here tomorrow and be ready to get after it. I’m disappointed tonight. We just didn’t play a good ball game.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Whoa, Nellie! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrueToTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrueToTheBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/I61VAb51QF">pic.twitter.com/I61VAb51QF</a></p>— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1025225123773607937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Not even a resurrected Cy Young Felix Hernandez could break this postseason drought that’s approaching 17 seasons if these bats can’t escape this MLB-worst futility over the past month-plus.
And this wasn’t Cy Young Felix Hernandez. This wasn’t “This is my house” Felix Hernandez, the phrase he exclaimed after allowing two hits over seven innings in a magnificent outing against the Blue Jays last year.
This was fight-for-your-life Felix.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said before the game that they needed Hernandez to just give them a chance. Give them a competitive outing.
He pitched five innings, allowed five hits, two runs, two walks with two strikeouts on 92 pitches.
“They can question whatever they want,” Hernandez said of the aura surrounding this start that every indication saying it would shape his role in the Mariners’ rotation the rest of the season.
“I know who I am, and that’s all I got to say.”
Servais dodged what this start meant for Hernandez’s future.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Gotta keep evaluating where we’re at as a team and how he’s feeling and then go from there.”
That was in doubt in the second inning, and again very much so in the fourth.
After throwing a scoreless first inning for the 11th time in his 22 starts, Hernandez tossed 28 pitches in the second and loaded the bases after a single, double and walk. Devon Travis followed with a ground-ball single just underneath Kyle Seager’s glove for two runs.
With two on and one out, Hernandez struck out Curtis Granderson for the second time and got an infield pop up to get out of the second inning – after 46 total pitches.
He needed a quick third inning and got it – 1-2-3 on 10 pitches. But it got hairy again in the fourth.
This time 23 pitches and after Teoscar Hernandez’s second double there were runners at the corners with no outs.
Somehow Felix Hernandez escaped that without a run.
Mel Stottlemyre Jr. jumped out of the dugout for a mound visit and Hernandez threw three consecutive balls to Luke Maile before getting him to send a ground ball to third base. Kyle Seager got Teoscar Hernandez caught in a rundown between third and home for the first out.
Felix then almost allowed a three-run home run to Travis, but Denard Span leaped at the warning track to take away extra bases. He escaped back to the dugout when he got Granderson to send a weak ground ball his way for the final out.
“That was pretty awesome,” Hernandez said of Span’s catch.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Denard Span nos demuestra que no le tiene miedo a la barda al hacer una gran atrapada en la franja de advertencia. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LosMarineros?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LosMarineros</a> 2, Azulejos 2<br> <a href="https://t.co/DY5549NIPZ">https://t.co/DY5549NIPZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/eqdDvn7TI5">pic.twitter.com/eqdDvn7TI5</a></p>— Marineros de Seattle (@LosMarineros) <a href="https://twitter.com/LosMarineros/status/1025227007616004096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
That was walking a tightrope.
But he did re-enter for the fifth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning to end his day.
“He did compete,” Servais said. “I didn’t think his stuff was particularly sharp, but he did make pitches and get through it.
“It wasn’t easy for him, but he gave us a chance and coming into the game tonight I think that’s what we were hoping for.”
Talk about struggling pitchers, though – Juan Nicasio allowed a two-out, two-run homer to former Mariner Kendrys Morales in the seventh inning as the Blue Jays took a 4-2 lead.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays rode Mike Hauschild, signed earlier in the day, to six shutout innings. He had allowed 10 runs in eight career innings in the majors before Thursday.
“I know baseball clubs struggle,” Hernandez said. “But we have to get back to who we are.”
A few takeaways:
Offense?
The Mariners had some offense – his name is Nelson Cruz.
He launched a two-run homer into the upper deck – 446 feet away – in left field in the first inning. All seemed so well against reliever Tyler Clippard, who was called into starting action to throw the first inning.
From there the Blue Jays called on Mike Hauschild, signed the day before.
First thing to know, Hauschild didn’t make it out of the first inning almost three weeks earlier against the Mariners’ Triple-A Tacoma squad while Hauschild was pitching for Triple-A Fresno. He allowed three home runs and got one out.
So how about in the major leagues on Thursday?
Hauschild pitched six scoreless innings. He had allowed 10 runs in eight innings for his major-league career.
Cruz added the Mariners’ lone other run – a solo homer in the eighth inning off of Joe Biagini. They’ve scored three runs or fewer in four consecutive games.
Defense?
There were a couple of gems: Denard Span’s leaping catch at the wall to take away extra-bases in the fourth inning and Jean Segura’s ranging play at shortstop in the fifth inning were beauties.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">El Mambo's got a rocket. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrueToTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrueToTheBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/7gdOUaVvVX">pic.twitter.com/7gdOUaVvVX</a></p>— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1025230881990930432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But too many mistakes. Cameron Maybin for the second consecutive day misplayed a ball in center field, Kyle Seager in his first game back should have probably made the play on the ground ball in the second inning when the Blue Jays tied the game, 2-2, on the two-run single. And his throw to second base in the ninth inning sailed past Dee Gordon and into right field when Gordon slipped on the base and rolled his ankle (more on that).
Their defense simply wasn’t sharp.
“It wasn’t,” Servais said. “And you need to make the plays. It’s the big leagues. You can’t let balls get through or have possible double-play balls not get turned. That’s a big deal. When the outs are there you got to go get them and we did not do that tonight.”
Dee Gordon injury
Dee Gordon appeared to sprain his right ankle stepping on second base to try to turn a potential double-play ball in the ninth inning.
After Kyle Seager’s throw his way sailed into right field with Gordon falling to the ground, a run scored, and error was given to Gordon and he limped off of the field to be replaced by Andrew Romine.
“He rolled his ankle,” Servais said, though he was unsure of the severity.
Two batters later, Aledmys Diaz lined a two-run, pinch-hit home run off of James Pazos for a 7-3 Blue Jays lead.
Play of the game
Kendry Morales broke the 2-2 tie with a two-run home run in the seventh inning against Juan Nicasio.
And with the way the Mariners’ offense has so struggled, that was enough.
Zach Duke started the seventh with a strikeout of Curtis Granderson in the left-on-left matchup, but Nicasio then allowed a hard single to Randal Grichuk before striking out Justin Smoak.
Nicasio then left a fastball in the middle of the plate to Morales, sending Nicasio’s season ERA to 6.00.
“On the high side of things, I think his stuff is much better than we’ve seen,” Servais said. “I think the velocity and the ball coming out are good, but still the execution of pitches late in games like that, it’s hurt him and it’s hurt him a number of times this season. It’s something we’ll have to look at going forward. We’ve certainly added guys to our bullpen who can take on a little bit bigger role. You try to get them all going at the same time, it’s just not happening right now. The consistency of what Juan has done for us just hasn’t been there.”
Nicasio allowed the homer a day after right-hander Nick Vincent allowed a three-run homer in the Mariners’ loss to the Astros. They need those two to pitch much better, especially after optioning right-hander Chasen Bradford to Triple-A Tacoma despite his success (Bradford has minor league options, Vincent and Nicasio don’t).
Top pitcher
Mike Hauschild was signed by the Blue Jays earlier in the day Thursday and then relieved Tyler Clippard in the second inning before pitching six scoreless, allowing four hits and striking out five.
Felix Hernandez lowered his season ERA a tad – 5.58 to 5.49 – after allowing two runs in five innings on five hits, two walks and with two strikeouts. He labored, though, throwing 92 pitches.
Top batter
Nelson Cruz was all the Mariners’ offense. He hit two homers, including one to the upper deck in left field, and now has 28 homers this season.
He gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead with his first bomb in the first inning and then cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 4-3 with his second in the eighth inning.
Teoscar Hernandez went 4-for-5 for the Blue Jays with three doubles.
“It’s not about individual performances,” Cruz said. “It’s about winning. This is a tough one. We got to forget it and try to win again tomorrow.
“We know we have to win games. It’s our responsibility to win games. It doesn’t matter what other teams do. It’s about us.”
Quotable
“We don’t expect it to be easy,” Cruz said. “We know it’s going to be tough. It goes up and down, it’s part of the season. The whole team is positive, though. We believe in each other and we still believe we can pull this off.
“We’re in a tough stretch but we know we can do it. We did it before and we’ve scored a lot of runs before and even last year we were in a similar situation and we came out of it. I see no reason why we can’t do it again.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 10:15 PM.