M's show the usual: fine arm, dull bats

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A couple of things were back to normal for the Mariners as they trudged off the field in losing fashion yet again.

The one that will have Mariners officials thrilled was the return of a dominant Felix Hernandez through most of a five-inning effort against the Kansas City Royals. In his first outing since spraining his ankle at Shea Stadium last month, the 22-year-old retired his first 10 batters and seemed poised to go much deeper until touched up for some fifth-inning runs.

Unfortunately for Hernandez, those runs were enough to seal a 3-1 defeat Friday night, largely because this team's other mainstay was also back in business. That would be the inability of the offense to generate any real power or production, a problem taking on proportions as serious as at any time this season.

"In Oakland, we weren't finishing off some rallies," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said after his team's fifth loss in six games. "Here, we weren't rallying at all."

The end result was largely the same in both cities. As hard as the Mariners have played for Riggleman, they are just as hapless at scoring as they've ever been.

They've scored four runs or fewer in nine of their last 10 games, three or fewer in six of those contests. In four of those games, including this one in front of 25,345 fans at Kauffman Stadium, they've scored two or fewer and lost every one.

Their last home run came from Richie Sexson, two nights before he was released. Hernandez himself has more home runs since mid-June than Jose Vidro or Miguel Cairo, the guys who started this game at DH and first base.

And for a team that hopes to build around Hernandez and pitching in years to come, that just won't do. It's one thing to get torched with Jeff Weaver or Horacio Ramirez on the mound, as the Mariners were so often last season.

Quite another to waste the quality outings from starters like the team has on this trip and all season long. Keeping Hernandez happy and in-the-fold long-term is paramount for this squad. But he'll undoubtedly want to see signs of an offense that can at least be competitive when he takes the mound before he gets serious in discussing any long-term contract next season.

Riggleman said he doesn't mind that much. That run production is streaky and that he's more concerned with getting the team to pitch well and play hard every game.

But on this night, as was the case with the three of the starters who came before him on this trip, the team let Hernandez down.

For the first 4-2/3 innings, Hernandez had seven strikeouts, had allowed only one hit and thrown just 61 pitches. His team, meanwhile, had mustered four singles in the first five innings and would get just one more hit the rest of the way.

"I felt comfortable," Hernandez said. "I felt like my mechanics were there. I was commanding my fastball. I don't know how I was doing it, but I was."

And while Hernandez was in command, the Mariners were letting their bats be controlled by mediocre Royals starter Luke Hochevar. He'd entered with just a 4-5 record and 5.40 earned-run average, but was able to breeze through seven innings for the win.

It was going to take a seven or eight-inning masterpiece by Hernandez just to give his team a shot at not losing. But back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth by John Buck and Joey Gathright opened the scoring and a two-run double by David DeJesus later in the inning put Kansas City up 3-0.

DeJesus fouled off four consecutive two-strike pitches from Hernandez before lining a slider over Ichiro's head in right field.

"Earlier in the game, he was throwing some sliders to lefties that they were swinging over the top of," Mariners catcher Jeff Clement said. "And that's the one [pitch] DeJesus hit for the double. Maybe that one wasn't quite as sharp as those other ones earlier in the game. But it's been awhile since he's taken the ball."

Yes, it has been.

Even though Clement said Hernandez's earlier pitching, putting his sinker anywhere he wanted and mixing in his off-speed stuff, made him look "like the guy he was before the ankle injury, that's for sure."

But that long absence and the 32-pitch fifth inning, bringing Hernandez up to 83 on the night, meant Riggleman wasn't taking any chances. He felt Hernandez was tired, even though the pitcher disagreed and said — with one of those pouting smiles — that he was upset at coming out.

"I said, 'Hell no, I'm not coming out,' " Hernandez said.

The team wants that type of short-term anger from its pitchers. What it must try to prevent, as it rebuilds this 2008 mess, is lingering resentment down the road from pitchers being sabotaged by an offense that can't swing straight.

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

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners