Steve Dykes – USA TODAY SPORTS
Felix Hernandez gave up just two runs on three hits and notched 10 strikeouts in six innings last night, but the Seattle Mariners ace was saddled with the loss after his team was unable to support him with any offense whatsoever. King Felix’s lone blemish was a two-run homer by Chris Nelson, but that proved more than enough as the Los Angeles Angels shut out the Mariners in their 2-0 victory.
Angels starter Garrett Richards was well on his way to a complete-game shutout before a line drive off the bat of Dustin Ackley bounced hard off his forearm and forced him to leave the game. Richards gave up just four hits in 7.1 innings.
Related: Seattle Mariners Continue To Suffer From Lack Of Offensive Production
Seattle reliever Carter Capps tossed two shutout innings and Oliver Perez worked a scoreless ninth to keep the team in the game all the way to the end, but the Mariners bats were silent all nine innings. Perhaps the team (and fans) were hopeful that the return of manager Eric Wedge last night from the minor stroke he suffered a month ago would give the team special reason to step up, but it was not to be.
The real story (again) is Seattle’s inability to score runs even when given stellar pitching and only trailing by one or two runs. The team has only come back to win three games this season when trailing after seven innings. This isn’t the first Hernandez gem that poor offense has ruined, nor will it likely be the last.
Matt Lanka is a Mariners writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattlanka, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
