Felix Hernandez gets to face an opponent other than Oakland for the first time this season this evening when the Seattle Mariners close out a three-game set with the Cleveland Indians at Safeco Field.
Hernandez has already made three starts this season, but all of them have come against Oakland and he has produced a 1-1 mark to go along with a 3.80 ERA in those outings. He was terrific on Friday against the A's, but absorbed the loss in the 4-0 shutout, as he surrendered two runs and seven hits in seven innings.
"I'm not happy about the performance, but it was just a couple mistakes I made and gave up those two runs and that cost us the game right there," Hernandez said. "We lost, that was the bad part."
Hernandez is 5-3 lifetime versus the Indians with a 2.80 ERA in 10 starts.
Cleveland, meanwhile, will counter with righty Josh Tomlin, who is 0-1 on the year and has allowed eight runs in 8 2/3 innings of work. Tomlin pitched in relief on Saturday in Kansas City and was awful, surrendering six hits and five runs (four earned) over 3 2/3 innings.
He has faced the Mariners three times and is 2-1 with a 6.23 ERA.
Seattle evened this series at a game apiece on Wednesday, as Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins each smacked a solo home run, while Jason Vargas tossed seven solid innings in the Mariners' 4-1 win.
Vargas (2-1) struck out seven and allowed one run on four hits and three walks, while Brandon League picked up his fifth save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth.
"Vargas was the story, he threw the ball very well. He held us in check the whole night," Cleveland Manny Acta said of Vargas' outing.
Seattle has won three of its last four games.
Derek Lowe (2-1), who debuted with Seattle in 1997, was touched for four runs on eight hits and six walks in 4 1/3 innings for Cleveland, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Jason Kipnis drove in the lone run for the Tribe.
Cleveland won five of its nine meetings with the Mariners last season.
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