Felix in control as M's shut out Pirates again

A sense of relief washed over Mariners starter Felix Hernandez only two innings into a night he waited what seemed like an eternity for.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had sent six batters to the plate Thursday night and all six hacked their way into outs. Hernandez hasn't had that type of rapid success since early April, and the confidence boost showed with some regained rhythm and swagger.

His diet of steady fastballs to the Pirates gradually gave way to some changeups and sliders. Before he knew it, he'd struck out nine batters and rocketed through eight innings of a 3-0 victory he hopes has finally signaled his return.

"I liked it," Hernandez said of the Pirates swinging early and often. "Because I didn't have to throw too many pitches. You get outs quick. That's what I like to do."

The outs had not come nearly quick enough for the 21-year-old in his seven prior outings since coming off the disabled list. He'd run his pitch counts up often, gotten pounded on mistakes, and had yet to make it beyond the sixth inning.

Whether this outing was a marked improvement, or perhaps the result of a Pirates team that failed to score over the final 20 innings of this series, the 22,950 fans at Safeco Field didn't seem to care. Hernandez kept his fastballs -- and there were once again plenty of them -- down in the zone and finally found the rhythm so badly lacking in his previous starts.

"I think my balance was very important," Hernandez said. "My balance was very good today, and I finished my pitches. I finished every pitch."

Mariners pitching coach Rafael Chaves had talked about the need for Hernandez to slow down his delivery. He'd been too quick to the plate in recent outings, causing his body to fly open and his pitches to miss their targets.

"I was worried," Hernandez said of his recent efforts, which had not resulted in a win since May 25 in Kansas City. "I just wanted to throw a good game and [regain] my confidence."

That he did, battling Pirates starter John Van Benschoten through four scoreless frames. The biggest challenge mounted by Pittsburgh came with the bases loaded and two out in the fifth inning, before Hernandez reared back and froze Nate McLouth with a 1-2 fastball to end the threat.

Seattle broke things open in the bottom of the frame, with Ichiro -- who had already extended his hitting streak to 16 games -- lining the seventh pitch of an at-bat into left field to score the only run his team needed. Jose Lopez then doubled down the left-field line, a ball that caromed off the short wall in foul territory and allowed a pair of additional runs to score.

That was all Hernandez needed. He went on to throw 107 pitches, 71 of them strikes, over eighth innings before J.J. Putz closed out the ninth for his 20th save in as many tries.

Putz's inning was the only one an exhausted Seattle bullpen had to work during the final two contests of this series, with Jeff Weaver's complete game on Wednesday having preceded Hernandez's outing.

"We were going through a tough time for this team," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "So, [Wednesday's] performance by Weaver and [Thursday's] performance by Felix was very big."

Ichiro admitted he was going to try to score on the Lopez double even before the ball took a funny hop off the short side wall and eluded left fielder Jason Bay. The way Hernandez was pitching, that third run looked like it would be more than enough.

Hernandez had thrown almost nothing but 97-mph fastballs in the early going. And a Pirates team with just a .314 on-base percentage obliged him when seven of the first 10 hitters swung into outs on either the first or second pitch of their at-bats.

"We were able to get that strike one, especially with the fastball," Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima said. "And then we could attack these hitters with his best stuff. Not like going ball, ball and then using the breaking ball and giving up a base hit. Today, he was able to get these guys out with his best pitches."

That hadn't been the case in Houston, where Hernandez lacked the same command he showed in this one and was hit hard when he threw the ball over the plate. It remains to be seen how Hernandez will do against a more patient club like the Boston Red Sox, his opponent Tuesday night at Safeco.

But Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said the Hernandez he saw Thursday most closely resembled the one who opened the season with 17 consecutive scoreless innings. Hernandez's previous rushing of his delivery, he added, had caused a number of his pitches to go flat, lose their crispness and miss their target.

"I said probably two starts ago that Felix just has to get his rhythm back and that's what I meant by that," Hargrove said. "And he certainly did a lot better job of that this outing."

And now a Mariners team, buoyed by consecutive starts like none other since the first week of the season, will try to maintain some rhythm of its own.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com. Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners