News
Hernandez's last chance to impress voters
Seattle (84-77) vs. Texas (87-74), 1:10 p.m. PT
By Jim Street / MLB.com
10/04/09 12:34 AM EST
SEATTLE -- The Mariners' regular-season finale against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon has plenty of intrigue. Ace right-hander Felix Hernandez makes his 34th start of the season and has a chance to strengthen his bid to become the second pitcher in franchise history to win the American League Cy Young Award. When eyes aren't on Felix, they will be on Ken Griffey Jr., who will close the curtain on his homecoming season, still unsure whether he will return for one more year in 2010. The Griffey story could last well into the winter as general manager Jack Zduriencik continues to build the Mariners into a playoff contender. The team improved by more than 20 games this season and a foundation has been built for future improvement. Meanwhile, the series finale took on added significance for Hernandez, who had his Cy Young bid bolstered on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, where Royals right-hander Zack Greinke surrendered four runs in six innings against the Twins in his final outing of a breakout season. Felix also has had a breakout year, establishing single-season highs in wins (18), innings pitched (232), and strikeouts (211). Of his 18 wins, 16 followed a Mariners loss, just one of the reasons Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu, who doesn't have a vote, has thrown his support to Felix. "I have said this over the past four or five outings just mainly because of the way he's finishing that if I had a vote for it, I would choose Felix," he said. "The impact he's had, and maybe I'm prejudiced in that aspect, but I don't think anybody has had as much impact on their club as Felix has had on this one. "There are a lot of statistical data to back that. Greinke has had a fabulous year and pitched a great game against us, but Felix is the face of the franchise as we go forward." Beating a Rangers team that ranks among the league leaders on offense would benefit Hernandez. He already is 3-1 against them this season with a 2.31 ERA. The Mariners will play the season finale without right-handed reliever Mark Lowe. He left the team to attend the funeral of his grandfather. Lowe was the busiest of the Seattle pitchers this season, appearing in a career-high 75 games -- 18 more than his previous high. "He's a guy really that a lot of people didn't believe at the start of the year that he could do what he's done to complement [closer David Aardsma]," Wakamatsu said. "But he's had a phenomenal year, and I'm awfully proud of the growth he's shown." Lowe had a losing record (2-7) but led the team with 26 holds and was used mostly as the final bridge to Aardsma. The 26 holds ranked fourth in the AL entering Saturday. Pitching matchupSEA: RHP Felix Hernandez (18-5, 2.48)
Hernandez started the season with a win and hopes to end it the same way as he makes his final pitch of a breakout year in the season finale against the visiting Rangers. It has been a Cy Young Award kind of season for the 23-year-old, who has been instrumental in the team avoiding long losing streaks. Of his first 18 wins, 15 of them came after losses. The right-hander has established career highs in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. Hernandez gets stronger the more pitches he throws, holding opposing hitters to a .155 batting average between pitches 61-75. TEX: RHP Scott Feldman, (17-7, 4.02)
Feldman is trying to become the 10th Rangers pitcher to win 18 games in a season and the first since Kenny Rogers in 2004. The last right-hander to do so was Aaron Sele in 1999. Feldman has lost his last two starts, allowing 11 runs in seven innings. He is 12-3 with a 3.41 ERA on the road and 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts against the Mariners.
Tidbits
Catcher Rob Johnson will be playing with a little pain in his left ankle on Sunday, but nothing short of a broken ankle could keep him from being behind the plate to catch Hernandez's final start of the season. They have been a battery since May 24. ... The DH tandem of Griffey and Mike Sweeney has been productive of late. In the past 68 games, the veterans have combined to hit .268 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs. They batted a collective .224 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs in the Mariners' first 83 games. ... Losing Friday night's series opener assured the Mariners of finishing third in the AL West this season. They would have tied the Rangers for second if they had swept the series. "The way I look at it, all games are tough to lose, but [Friday night] was not the game that cost us second place," Wakamatsu said. "If there was a key, it was the loss of Sean White. I think we have blown four or so games the past week or so where, in my mind, if White had been healthy, we would still have a good chance of finishing second. But I am still proud of what these guys have done."
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Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
