Hernandez amazes Twins

The Minnesota Twins raved yesterday about the composure of Mariners teenager Felix Hernandez, but it took their manager, Ron Gardenhire, to cut to the chase.

"Poise? I don't think we're talking about poise here," Gardenhire said. "I think we're talking about a 97 mile an hour fastball with a curveball from hell. I think you can overlook the poise part. Let's just say great stuff."

The Twins, who came into the game knowing little about Hernandez, came away believing that they had faced a future star.

"Definitely," said infielder Nick Punto, hitless in four at-bats. "It's one game, but he looks great. He had great composure on the mound, and he was confident in his pitches. He wasn't just relying on his fastball, either. He was throwing breaking balls and changeups. He kept us off-balance."

Twins hitters, who had five hits in eight innings off Hernandez, also came away impressed with his mound presence.

"When you throw 98, you should have a little cockiness to you," said designated hitter Matthew LeCroy. "He seemed like he knew what he was doing."

"I wish I could have been in here [the clubhouse] watching, instead of out there opposing him," added hard-luck loser Kyle Lohse. "That was pretty impressive. I hope I don't have to lock up with him too much in the future."

LeCroy led off the fifth with a broken-bat single to left, which was followed by another hit by Jacque Jones. But the Twins couldn't execute the sacrifice, and Hernandez worked out of the jam.

"He didn't look 19 at all," said LeCroy. "His mannerisms on the mound — he never got flustered."

Gardenhire said the advance reports on Hernandez were that his command could be shaky at times. It might be time for a revision.

"He wasn't shaky at all," Gardenhire said. "He was in control. He threw the heck out of the ball."

"Everyone's making a big deal out of his age, but he's got some ability," Jones said. "He threw the ball right where he needed to, right when he had to. When you throw 98 and mix in breaking balls, you're going to have these kind of days."

Still, Gardenhire wasn't ready to ticket Hernandez for Cooperstown yet.

"That's one outing," he said. "You're talking about a young kid, 19 years old. Let's see if he maintains his work habits, and stays healthy, which is what baseball is all about — longevity, and being able to do it day in and day out.

"It's a good start tonight."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.