With all eyes on him, Hernandez shines

BOSTON — The game had a tingle, the electric buzz that comes along only on rare and precious nights to break the monotony of the endless baseball season, and live forever in the psyche.

And it had a sweet story line: A uniquely talented pitcher with the hopes and dreams of his countrymen riding on the effort — and then exceeding every expectation.

Yeah, Venezuela was sure pumped about Felix Hernandez.

"I talked to a friend back home, and everyone was watching Felix," said Mariners coach Carlos Garcia, a native of Tachira, Venezuela. "It was all the talk, all the attention."

Oh sure, some guy named Dice-K pitched for the Red Sox, and apparently this game was a pretty big deal in Japan, too.

But while the 350 media members at Fenway Park, the sellout crowd and the national television audience might have been attracted by the Daisuke Matsuzaka-Ichiro intrigue — as incessantly promoted as it was, they had little choice — everyone left with the realization that Felix has arrived.

"If they didn't, they're deaf and dumb," said Mariners manager Mike Hargrove. "With all the hype going into this game over Matsuzaka and Ichiro, I kept in the back of my mind that people better not overlook this guy."

Little chance of that now. This was a command performance, Felix's one-hit, complete-game shutout in Seattle's 3-0 victory — 111 pitches of bliss, and all on the extended rest that so disoriented Jeff Weaver a night earlier.

This was a burgeoning star announcing his arrival to the world. This was Roger Clemens breaking out in 1986. This was Springsteen in 1974, an "I have seen baseball's future and his name is Felix Hernandez" moment.

And it was a pure, unadulterated heist of a story line.

As Felix mowed down Boston hitters, as he froze them with the diabolical combination of 99-mph fastballs, nasty sliders and tantalizing changeups, as he moved inexorably toward a no-hitter, the breathless anticipation of Dice-K facing Ichiro seemed oddly trivial.

"I hope people just turn around," said Mariners right fielder Jose Guillen. "They came to see Matsuzaka, expecting a lot. I hope they change their mind. I hope they had a lot of fun, seeing this young guy we have in here. He's pretty special. I put my money on him every time."

Shutting down Oakland in the season opener was the tease, but there was always the possibility that Hernandez would follow with a letdown, resume the inconsistency of last year.

Those fears are lessening. There is, in fact, a growing sense in the Mariners clubhouse that Felix's moment has arrived — an awakening that begin to take hold when he showed up to camp in such great shape.

"He is a man on a mission this year," said Garcia. "Last year was a growing experience, and through our conversations, he expressed a desire to change things."

Forget about the Matsuzaka hype — the Mariners desperately needed a win on Wednesday. An unease hung over the team after the four-day snowout in Cleveland, followed by a disastrous effort in a 14-3 loss Tuesday. There was a dark sense of foreboding that if things didn't change quickly a breakdown was looming.

After Felix's effort, the clubhouse was positively giddy. Teammates buzzed about his poise, marveled over his stuff, re-lived with frustrated shakes of the head the lone hit by Boston's J.D. Drew leading off the eighth inning. It came as a jarring surprise, so dominating and unhittable Felix appeared.

"He stole the show, no question about it," said Mariners coach John McLaren. "We needed this. Last night we were a little rusty, a little flat. He pitched a great game for us, and that's what a number one is supposed to do: Stop the bad feelings."

So far with Felix this year, all the feelings are good. What he has done is reinforce the mania that greeted his arrival in 2005 but was dimmed by his inconsistent performance last year. Now, once again, nothing seems beyond his reach.

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