M's Hernandez says he wanted to be pulled — then came the collapse

BALTIMORE — A vintage Felix Hernandez frustrated opposing hitters all day with a combination of pinpoint fastballs and biting curves.

But the best pitch delivered by the Mariners starter on Sunday afternoon might have been the one used to get his manager's neck out of the proverbial noose. The vultures were circling when manager John McLaren pulled Hernandez with a two-run lead after eight innings, only to see the bullpen yield three runs in the ninth in tumbling toward a shocking 3-2 loss.

In a stunned clubhouse afterward, Hernandez insisted he had told pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre before the ninth that his arm wasn't 100 percent and the team would be better off using southpaw Eric O'Flaherty against a bevy of left-handed bats in that final frame. Hernandez had thrown a bullpen session two days earlier and had one less day to recover from it because he replaced an ailing Erik Bedard in Sunday's contest.

"You guys know me, I don't want to come out of the game," Hernandez told reporters after a third straight Seattle loss, in front of 19,215 on a cold and wet day at Camden Yards. "But when I feel tired, I don't want to make any mistakes. Because I felt a little bit tired. I threw a bullpen the other day. I didn't expect that, to throw eight innings after just one day's rest."

Hernandez insists it made a difference this time and that he otherwise would have gone out for the ninth, his pitch count sitting at a relatively low 97.

McLaren's use of the bullpen was questioned by fans and some pundits toward the end of last season. But the manager didn't hesitate in going to O'Flaherty once the normally unflappable Hernandez begged off, not wanting to risk blowing out the arm of his still-21-year-old pitcher.

"Let's be honest, it was a tough day all around," a downcast-looking McLaren said.

The matchups appeared to be there for O'Flaherty, with three left-handed bats due up among the inning's first four hitters.

But he yielded a leadoff double to Nick Markakis, who later scored on a ground out, then a two-out single to Luke Scott that put the tying run on. Mark Lowe replaced O'Flaherty on the mound, allowed a single to right by Jay Payton that put runners at the corners, then uncorked a wild pitch that tied the score at 2.

Ramon Hernandez walked, and Luis Hernandez lined a single to center that sent the crowd into a frenzy and the Orioles pouring on to the field in celebration.

"I don't know what we could do differently," McLaren said. "We got the matchups we wanted. It just didn't work."

O'Flaherty is supposed to be the team's lefty-killer, replacing the traded George Sherrill, but southpaws have hit 4 for 7 off him this season. The Markakis double was shrugged off as "a good piece of hitting" by O'Flaherty, who also wasn't too upset by the two-out, seeing-eye grounder by Scott.

"I'm not going to fret over it," O'Flaherty said. "I felt I did a pretty good job of getting the ground balls over there."

Lowe hadn't been used in five days, but said the long layoff didn't impact his pitching. Mariners catcher Jamie Burke said the crucial wild pitch that tied the score was more a result of bad luck than anything else.

"It was a fastball and it hit the left-foot hole that's over there in the left-hand [side of the] batter's box," Burke said. "It hit and bounced up. I wish I could have gotten it. I haven't looked at the tape or anything, but it's unfortunate."

Burke knows the season is still young.

But he added that it's time for the young relievers to "take the bull by the horns" and for the rest of the team to step up in closer J.J. Putz's absence so that it isn't haunted by too many games like this one down the road.

"Definitely, at the beginning of the year, you want to start bringing in the wins," he said. "At the end of the year, you don't want to be fighting for the wild card or the American League West and wondering about games that could have been won."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com