Felix Hernandez Dominates Florida Marlins With 10 Strikeouts

Felix Hernandez appears ready to try and defend his 2010 American League Cy Young Award. The Seattle Mariners beat the Florida Marlins 5-1 on Friday, but it was mostly thanks to the efforts of Hernandez on the mound. He completely mastered the Marlins offense, allowing two hits on the way to his eighth win.

Friday's game was interesting because it took place in Seattle. The three-game interleague series was supposed to be played in Florida, but a U2 concert caused Major League Baseball to move it to Seattle. Now the teams are playing with National League rules in an American League park, and the Mariners are forced to take on the role of visiting team in front of their home crowd.

Hernandez had to bat and he ended up with the first hit of the night for the team. Seattle scored three runs in the seventh and two in the ninth. The only run Felix gave up was on a wild pitch in the fourth.

The pitching performance was reminiscent of the ones that drew so many Cy Young votes for Hernandez. He pitched eight strong innings, giving up two hits and two walks. He hit three batters as he tried to control the inside of the plate so the Marlins got seven runners on base. He often was able to get out of jams with strikeouts though, and ended the game with 10 on the board.

With the win, Hernandez improved to 8-6, picking up a win in a very important situation for Seattle. The Mariners just returned home after getting swept by the Washington Nationals, so it was crucial Hernandez was able to win this one and keep the team in the race for the American League West title. Brandon League would come in to finish the ninth inning, allowing nobody to reach base on his 10 pitches.

The Mariners got back to .500 (38-38) by beating the Marlins and kept pace with a Texas Rangers team that also won. They trail by 2 1/2 games heading into today's game, with Jason Vargas taking the mound. On Sunday it will be Doug Fister on the mound against Anibal Sanchez.