Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) – Felix Hernandez fired the 10th shutout of
his career to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 2-0 win over the Minnesota Twins
in the opener of a three-game set on Friday night.
Hernandez (3-0), who now has thrown 24 complete games in his career, scattered
five hits and struck out nine as he lowered his ERA to 1.61.
Nelson Cruz and Logan Morrison each belted solo homers for Seattle, which has
won two straight.
Phil Hughes (0-4) went toe-to-toe with King Felix, tossing eight innings of
two-run ball and striking out nine in the loss.
“When he is on like that you just hope you can squeeze one across, but he’s
tough,” Hughes said of Hernandez.
The Twins have dropped three of their last four.
Hernandez struck out the first four batters he faced and Cruz gave him all the
run support he needed in the second with a blast to left center.
“You are very happy because you come up and give the lead to a special pitcher
like Felix,” Cruz said of his homer.
The former CY Young Award winner retired the first 14 batters he faced before
Trevor Plouffe delivered a two-out single in the fifth.
Morrison added his solo shot in the home fifth to extend the lead to 2-0, then
Hernandez faced some trouble in the sixth.
Kurt Suzuki reached on an infield single to lead off the sixth and advanced to
second on shortstop Brad Miller’s throwing error. Jordan Schafer followed with
an infield single, and Hernandez got Danny Santana to fly out. Torii Hunter
struck out and Joe Mauer to grounded out to end the threat.
Hernandez polished off the shutout with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Game Notes
Hernandez improved to 8-5 against the Twins … The teams combined to go 1-
for-10 with runners in scoring position … Time of game: 2:03.