Hernandez hit hard by Astros in M's loss

HOUSTON — Throwing strikes has never looked this bad on Felix Hernandez.

The glum expression on his face in the clubhouse after Friday's game showed he knew it. There was no hiding his disappointment after a third straight Mariners loss, during which Hernandez's pitches caught far too much plate to please anyone but the Houston Astros.

Hernandez threw 99 pitches, and 74 of them found their way into the strike zone. But a dozen of those were pounded for hits in a 5-1 loss to the Astros that was easily the worst game played by the Mariners in weeks.

"I have to do better that that," Hernandez said. "We need to win, and I'm struggling right now."

The only Mariners run came when Willie Bloomquist hit an inside-the-park home run off Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez in the sixth inning. That cut Houston's lead to just one run, but Hernandez gave it right back — and more — when Mike Lamb hit a two-run homer off him on an 0-2 slider in the bottom of the sixth.

Lamb tied a career high with four hits, including a run-scoring double in the third. Craig Biggio had three of Houston's 16 hits to leave him with 2,988 in his career.

Hernandez and the Mariners aren't denying that he barely resembles the pitcher who threw 17 shutout innings to start the season. It was tough to tell which looked more flat: Hernandez's fastball, or the faltering Seattle hitters, held to just seven runs their last three games.

Mariners manager Mike Hargrove can do something about the latter. He'll shuffle the lineup tonight, giving Jose Lopez his first start at third base since 2005 and Jose Vidro his first start of the year at second.

But with Hernandez, it's a matter of wait-and-see.

"His command is just not where it was before he went on the disabled list," Hargrove said. "His stuff's still good, it's just that he needs to locate it better."

In other words, throwing three-quarters of his pitches inside the strike zone isn't a very good idea. Not when Hernandez keeps leaving them in the middle of the plate, missing his targets both on the inside and outside corners as well as down low.

"I don't care how hard you throw or how good your stuff is," Hargrove said. "If you don't locate it consistently, major-league hitters are going to hit you, and that's what we've seen happening with Felix."

Thing is, not all of Hernandez's "stuff" has been good. His two-seam fastball sure isn't the same as it was back when he reeled off those season-opening wins.

"My two-seamer was working better than now," Hernandez said. "Now, I haven't got nothing.

"I still don't have it in the bullpen, either," he added.

That's tough on a pitcher trying to establish his fastball early in games. Four of the Astros' first five batters notched hits off Hernandez.

A double-play grounder and a superb throw by Ichiro to nail Lance Berkman at the plate enabled Hernandez to get out of the first inning unscathed. But he yielded a leadoff single to Mark Loretta in the second and fell behind 1-0 when Lamb drilled a double to left-center.

Houston made it 2-0 in the second when Hernandez issued a 10-pitch walk to Luke Scott, followed by singles from Lamb and Brad Ausmus. The Mariners got it back when Bloomquist notched the 22nd inside-the-park homer in franchise history on a ball that eluded center fielder Hunter Pence and rolled up a grass embankment known as "Tal's Hill."

But with a runner on in the bottom of the inning, Hernandez put an 0-2 pitch to Lamb belt-high and over the plate. It was quickly golfed into the right-field seats to make it a 4-1 game.

The way Seattle was hitting, allowing Rodriguez to go a career-high 7-2/3 innings, there was little left to decide.

"We were a little flat," Bloomquist said of his squad, now 5-3 on a road trip that began 5-0. "I think the road's catching up to us. Hopefully, we can win at least one of the next two games to salvage something on this trip. It's been a good trip for us but hopefully we can ... finish it on a strong note."

Hargrove keeps hoping Hernandez will finish on a better note than he's shown in seven starts since his elbow injury. Hernandez has failed to go more than six innings in any of them since returning from the DL.

While he did notch six strikeouts and held Houston to four runs, it was not enough to win. That's something Hernandez has done just once since coming off the DL.

"I don't think there's any magic pill we can give Felix," Hargrove said with a sigh. "It's going to take the time it's going to take. Today can be the last day of the year he has control problems."

Hoping is all Hargrove can do as his team struggles to the finish of a trip it started so strongly.

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

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