Seattle Mariners Push Back Felix Hernandez’s Start

King Felix must wait to continue his reign.  Felix Hernandez has been pushed back from his scheduled start.

Hernandez, who was expected to start Sunday night, will be pushed back to start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres.  While Hernandez hasn’t officially been diagnosed with an injury, he complained of back soreness after his June 1st start.

In the June 1st outing, Hernandez was hit hard.  He gave up four runs in five innings.  He was scheduled to start next against the Angels, but has already missed that start because of the back.

Eric Wedge, the Mariners manager, said Hernandez will get six starts in before the All-Star break even with pushing back his next scheduled start to Tuesday.  Part of the decision to push back the start may be to limit the strain Hernandez experiences when he get back on the hill.  The Angels and the Dodgers (who he would have pitched against had he started Sunday) are in a different class than the Padres.  Facing the Padres may not cause as much strain on Hernandez as their lineup ranks at the bottom or near the bottom in almost every offensive category.

Felix Hernandez has started 12 games this season and has an ERA of 3.42.  He is striking batters out at a slightly higher clip than years past – 8.9 K/9.  Hernandez is a three-time All-Star and won the American League Cy Young in 2010.  In his career with Seattle, Hernandez is 89-71 with a 3.25 ERA.

The Mariners open their interleague series with the Dodgers tonight, then they take on their National League “rivals,” the San Diego Padres, on Tuesday.