News
Felix fights off cold to pick up 13th win
Mariners ace holds down Royals in unusual contest
By Christian Caple / MLB.com
08/29/09 2:30 AM ET
SEATTLE -- Felix Hernandez showed up at Safeco Field on Friday with sinus congestion and a headache, making what he did against Kansas City in the ensuing seven innings that much more impressive. After watching the Mariners' ace hold them to three runs over seven innings while Mike Sweeney, of all people, burned them on the basepaths, it was the Royals who probably felt like they had a migraine. Hernandez returned to the win column for the first time since Aug. 1, and the Mariners scored four of their runs without a base hit in an unusual 6-3 win over Kansas City in front of 26,714 at Safeco Field. "[Felix] pitched a heck of a ballgame," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "But from our end over there, you know that he wasn't at full strength. That even makes it more special. But he went out there and keeps continuing doing what he does." Pitching through clogged sinuses is more common, though, than the mad dash Sweeney made to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead in the second inning. With one out and Sweeney on third, Josh Wilson hit a tapper back to Royals starter Brian Bannister. As soon as Bannister turned to throw to first, Sweeney broke for home, and slid around catcher Miguel Olivo's tag, even though the throw beat him. Sweeney clapped his hands and pumped his fists in celebration after stealing the run -- the most excited he's been after crossing the plate, he said, since pulling off a straight steal of home plate off Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte in 2002. "I don't know if in my lifetime I'll ever see Sweeney do that again, but that's what makes him special," Wakamatsu said. "When it was hit back to Banny, he looked and saw me, and he kind of lackadaisically turned," Sweeney said. "And I thought, you know what, he's going to just kind ease it over there, and I darted for home and I'm thankful I got in there. It ended up being a big run." It got a pretty good reaction from the Mariners dugout, too. "I'm a pretty mellow guy, but that was a big play, even though it was early in the game," Sweeney said. "And I thought that I'd maybe give the guys a little bit of an emotional spark." They added a few more to ease the pressure on Hernandez -- and his sinuses. Wilson, who was called up earlier in the month to provide some depth in the infield when Adrian Beltre went on the disabled list, continued to make the most out of his opportunity with the Mariners. He added another two RBI in the fourth inning when he singled to left field following a base hit by Sweeney and a double by Bill Hall. Those two runs were the only that Seattle used a base hit to get across the plate. Franklin Gutierrez walked, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out error by Royals first baseman Billy Butler to make it 3-1 in the third. Michael Saunders and Sweeney worked back-to-back walks with two on and two out in the seventh to add another run. And their first run scored on an RBI groundout by Hall in the second. Russell Branyan, he of the 31 home runs this season, started that second inning with a bunt base hit up an empty third-base line against a shifted infield. This win was more manufactured in every sense of the word. "You look back at the game and their cleanup hitter bunted," Bannister said. "Sweeney, who's had a history of back problems, made an amazing slide on a ball that beat him to the plate. And they scored six runs with one extra-base hit. "They played hard, they ran the bases well, they put the pressure on us and they really earned that one tonight." Hernandez shook off his illness to further his case for the Cy Young Award. He wasn't as electric as he has been at times this season, but other than a two-run home run by Mitch Maier in the fifth inning, he wasn't hit hard, and the Royals had trouble getting the ball out of the infield. He struck out six and coaxed 11 ground-ball outs while allowing five hits over seven innings. "I was a little bit sick when I got here, my sinuses and everything," Hernandez said. "But I've got to do it. It's my day to pitch, so I've got to do it." The only downside of the victory was an early exit for Branyan. He had to leave the game prior to the fifth inning after tweaking his back on a check swing and will be evaluated on Saturday.Christian Caple is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
