Hernandez pitches gem in home debut

So often, in almost any sport, the big ones aren't all they were cracked up to be.

But Felix Hernandez, in winning his first home start for the Mariners 1-0 over the Twins last night, was every bit as fabulous as the scouts — who have seen him rocket up the Seattle organization in 2 ½ years — said he was.

"He was all that, everything he was billed to be," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said of the kid who may be expected to lead this franchise out of the wilderness, "... and then some."

For one game, Hernandez — at age 19 the youngest starting pitcher in 14 years — thrilled the 34,213 in Safeco Field who can say they saw him pitch his first game here.

Not only did they see a dazzling, five-hit shutout over eight innings, with a save by Eddie Guardado, but they saw a youngster poised and polished beyond his years, showing as many facets as a pitcher will ever need.

For four innings, Hernandez cruised, allowing only one hit.

In the fifth, he faced a jam and was tough and cool, fielding a bunt and getting a key out at third, then picking up teammate Adrian Beltre, whose error left the bases loaded with two outs.

In the eighth, with the slimmest of leads, he made it stand up through another threat.

"Because of the ages, we kid about being father and son," said catcher Wiki Gonzalez, 31. "Well, my son did really good today."

Actually, Gonzalez was the first to have an inkling what this game was going to be like.

"On the first pitch, I called a two-seamer [sinker] and it just exploded on me and I dropped it," Gonzalez said. "I peeked at the radar reading and it said 97. I thought, 'Wow, a two-seamer that hard.' The next pitch, I dropped that, too.

"I said to myself, 'Oh, my God ... the way this kid is throwing, I've got to be ready.' "

From his first three pitches, all at 97, it was obvious Hernandez was feeling right at home.

"I was comfortable. I was actually a bit surprised, I was more comfortable than I had been in my first start in Detroit ... really, more comfortable than I've felt all year," he said. "And I just did it."

The only problem was that Twins starter Kyle Lohse had not read his part in the script.

While the Mariners rookie allowed only one scratch hit to Shannon Stewart leading off the game, sending a breaking ball for an infield roller, Lohse allowed only one hit over the first six innings — a leadoff double by Ichiro in the first.

"That's probably as good as I've seen Kyle Lohse pitch in a long, long time. He was super," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Unfortunately, the kid on the other side threw the ball great, too."

And in the fifth, gritty, too.

Matt LeCroy led off with a broken-bat single, a 96 mph heater flared into left. Jacque Jones followed with a 94 mph serve grounded back up the middle. Lew Ford fouled off one bunt try, then bunted right back to Hernandez, who threw 92 mph to third to force LeCroy.

"Often, you see a kid rush that play," Hargrove said. "But Felix stayed cool and took his time, and made the play perfectly."

Hernandez blew Justin Morneau away on fastballs for a second out, then was called on to show another aspect of his game when Beltre put him in a bases-loaded hole.

Terry Tiffee grounded to third, and Beltre gloved the ball and moved as if to tag Jones, who slid past him. He then threw across the diamond high for an error that put Tiffee on and left the bases loaded.

"Adrian just got caught between two moves," Hargrove said. "If he makes a lower throw to first, he gets the out. But Felix came through. He didn't scoot around and feel sorry for himself. He just went back to work and picked up Beltre.

"Whether a pitcher is 19 or 90, you want to see him pick up a teammate, and that's exactly what Felix did for Adrian. You better believe Adrian appreciated that."

While Hernandez kept going, Lohse faltered in the seventh. With two away, he left a pitch up to Reed, who doubled to right-center. Nick Punto, who had replaced Ford in center, could not get to the ball. On the next pitch, Lohse's 101st of the game, Yuniesky Betancourt tripled to the same right-center gap, and Seattle and Hernandez had a lead.

Hargrove and pitching coach Bryan Price debated whether to send Hernandez back out, or take him out with a lead and a well-pitched game. They decided to let the kid have another inning.

"Going out for the eighth I told him, 'Don't change anything; this is just like the first inning,' " Gonzalez said. "Felix pointed at me, like he was saying, 'Let's go.' "

He was. "I felt more emotional going out to pitch with a lead," Hernandez said. "Now it was my game and I had to win it."

While the effort was obviously sensational, there was the understanding it was from a 19-year-old on which Seattle has pinned much hope.

"For anyone, especially one so young, he was outstanding," Hargrove said. "If he continues, Felix has a chance to be something special."