Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda shine for the Seattle Mariners – MLB Update
Pitcher’s Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda guided the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels in Arizona on Monday. Hernandez gave up a few hard-strike balls, counting five hits and a run before being pulled out after pitching 53 throws,
as Pineda allowed only a single and two walks.
The Mariners intended to give Hernandez a three-inning start, but after two singles and a walk limited his third inning, the Mariners’ Manager Eric Wedge sent in Justin Miller to attain the last out and keep Hernandez's throw count reasonable.
Hernandez gave up a couple of singles in the first and a two-out double in the second inning. In the third inning, Conor Jackson singled, and then wrapped second and posted on a base hit by Kevin Kouzmanoff. When Hernandez walked Chris Carter, Wedge gave
him the catch.
Speaking with the media Hernandez said, "I was just throwing strikes. That's all I need to do. See if my sinker is working, and it was. I'm still alive after that line drive, you know? That's all I was looking for."
Hernandez commented that he wished to slash his mid-game meeting short so that he could go and watch Pineda, the 22-year-old Dominican who went after him on the mound.
Pineda again pitched two scoreless innings during the throwing session in his second game of the spring, as he allowed a single and two walks only. Pineda was not ideal in his second day out, but he ran his lock out line to four innings, as his opening to
Major League contest continued.
Pineda pitched two great innings during last week game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as Kouzmanoff stroked him with a single to right field in the fifth inning, and he hurt him by pitching 40 throws over his two appearances.
Wedge was pleased with the pitching of Pineda as he said, "I thought he threw the ball well. He did a good job with his fastball. He continues to be confident with his secondary stuff and is able to slow it down when he needs to, which is always nice to
see with a young pitcher."
As for Hernandez, Wedge has a view that he prohibited all his throws well in his initial start, as two of the strikes he gave up were amazing. One was a single by Hideki Matsui that chopped between Michael Saunders, Chone Figgins and Brendan Ryan in the
first inning and the other was a double by Steve Tolleson that fell just inside the right-field line in the second inning.
It will be interesting to see how Pineda and Hernandez carry their winning momentum forward. The Mariners will be looking for consistent performances from both of their pitchers.
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