King Felix Keeps Amazing Streak Going With Shutout of Twins

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez smiles after finishing his complete-game shutout of the Minnesota Twins. (Jim Mone)

Tonight, the Seattle Mariners traveled to Target Field to take on the Minnesota Twins. Two very different pitchers were on the mound. The Mariners had their ace Felix Hernandez ready to go. Hernandez is of course one of the best pitchers in all of baseball and is only twelve days removed from throwing a perfect game. The Twins countered with a young, 23-year-old Aussie named Liam Hendriks. Hendriks has had his ups and downs this season as a starting pitcher. He has been sent back down to Triple-A twice this year and is still looking for his first major league win in 14 career starts.

As the game got underway, Hernandez quickly found his cruise control. Unexpectedly, Hendriks began to match him pitch for pitch. Both had shutouts going through seven innings of work. Hendriks had only needed 68 pitches to make it through his first six innings. He was locked in as never before. In the top of the eighth inning, Hendriks made one small mistake. He threw a fastball that caught a little bit too much of the plate. The problem is that the batter, Mariners right fielder Eric Thames, got enough of it to hit it out of the park for a solo home run. Meanwhile, Hernandez finished off what he started. In the bottom of the ninth, he induced a double play ball off the bat of Twins first baseman Justin Morneau to seal the Mariners 1-0 victory.

While Hernandez does have the ability to blow one away with his fastball, he also has the ability to use finesse and control to get the job done. The latter is what he did tonight. King Felix induced a staggering 16 ground ball outs compared to only five strikeouts and three flyouts. Mariners shortstop Brandon Ryan, who gets to observe from behind the working ace, explained how it works to reporters after the game. He said, "It's a different kind of great. He's not trying to throw 96 by you. He's letting the action and location dictate."

King Felix has been incredibly dominate lately, but it is not just because of this performance or the perfect game he threw. Over his last fourteen starts, Hernandez is 9-0 with a 1.40 ERA and five shutouts. No other pitcher in baseball even has an ERA of under 2.00 during this span. In his last 109 inning pitched, King Felix has only given up two home runs.  No other pitcher has given up that few even in a minimum of 60 innings pitched. Hernandez's five shutouts since mid-June is the most any Major League pitcher has thrown in an entire season since Tim Belcher in 1989.

Hendriks pitched the game of a lifetime matching one of the best in baseball. He might not have earned his first major league win, but this performance has to build his confidence as a pitcher. Hendriks has nothing to be ashamed of for how he pitched in any way. Meanwhile, King Felix continues to pitch unbelievably well. His current streak is not only dominant, but historic in many different ways. One can consider so many amazing statistical accomplishments of Hernandez. One last one to consider is that in his 27 starts this season, he has given up one earned run or less in 16 of those starts. King Felix is no doubt one of the best pitchers in baseball. He reminded us why once again tonight.