Mariners notebook: What went wrong with Felix Hernandez

Monday night we saw something from Felix Hernandez that we don’t see very often. Three innings of perfection followed by five walks and seven runs, a stunning turnaround that had many scrambling for answers when the game ended. Was it the muddy pitching mound or was he just off?

“I just thought he got a little fast with his delivery,” Mariners pitching coach Rick Waits told me on the radio pregame show Tuesday. “He got a little out of his mechanics a little bit, something you rarely see from him, but you do see it. If anything, the timing was off and he was missing with his fastball. And knowing Felix, he was trying really hard to find another pitch, changeup, curveball, slider, something that he could get back in the count with and he just battled.”

That’s exactly what we saw. As pinpoint as Felix was in the first three innings, in the fourth and fifth he simply was not hitting his spots. Not even close, and he almost completely abandoned his fastball, which was running on him. The Yankees picked up on this.

“His stuff moves so much and I think that’s what got him in trouble a little bit,” said Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira. “Give our hitters credit, we didn’t swing at the bad pitches when he threw them. We made the adjustments.”

Listen to Mark Teixeira on facing Felix Hernandez

Typically, when you are facing Felix you will have to make a lot of adjustments if you want to have a chance against him. Earlier in the week I talked to Mike Zunino about how he and Felix adapt to how teams approach them. Most teams go with an aggressive approach to try and stay out of pitcher’s counts. Some hold back.

“They either try to wait him out because they know his stuff is so good sometimes it moves out of the zone, or sometimes they are really aggressive,” Zunino said.

Listen to Mike Zunino on in-game adjustments

The key is to stay one step ahead and flip the script when necessary. Monday night the Yankees were able to do that and while Felix tried, he just didn’t have command of any of his pitches after the third inning.

Lineup

Austin Jackson, CF
Willie Bloomquist, SS
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Kyle Seager, 3B
Rickie Weeks, DH
Logan Morrison, 1B
Justin Ruggiano, LF
Mike Zunino, C

Mike Montgomery, LHP

Guaipe optioned for Montgomery

Before the game, reliever Mayckol Guaipe was optioned back to Tacoma to make room for Mike Montgomery on the 25-man roster. Guaipe had an impressive debut Monday, throwing 2 1/3 hitless innings.

“He did an outstanding job for us,” said manager Lloyd McClendon. “He’s got a bright future. We can’t play with 26.”

One other move was made as reliever Tyler Olson came off the disabled list and was optioned to Tacoma, where he will join the Rainiers’ rotation.

Iwakuma making progress

Hisashi Iwakuma played catch for a third straight day as he works toward getting back on the mound. The plan is to throw bullpen sessions on Thursday, Sunday and Wednesday and then throw couple of simulated games. At that point he should be ready for a rehab assignment.

Tuesday’s throwing session went very well, according to Waits.

“He was very aggressive,” Waits said. “We got the catcher down on flat ground and you could really see the ball coming out with nice spin, nice trajectory. He’s feeling great.”

Notes

• Danny Farquhar got the start Tuesday in Tacoma but the Mariners are not looking at converting him. This is more about getting work. “Work one inning of relief, it’s hard to get straightened out,” McClendon said. “Get three or four and he can get a feel for his pitches and get it going.”

• Austin Jackson has been caught stealing in his last three attempts. McClendon said he did not get a good jump on his attempt Monday night but wants to see him continue to run. “If he is going to be a base stealer, a guy that creates havoc for us at the top, he can’t stop running because he got thrown out a couple of times,” McClendon said. “If you have a fear of getting thrown out, you are never going to be a good base stealer. He has got to continue to be aggressive.”

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