TORONTO -- His last two starts weren't pretty. In fact, the outings were quite contrary to what Felix Hernandez had been displaying since being called up to the Major Leagues.
The 19-year-old rookie appears back on track.
Hernandez, 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA in his last two starts with 11 runs allowed in 10 innings, dominated the Blue Jays on Wednesday, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning as the Mariners held on for a 3-2 win.
Hernandez was 3-2 with a 1.59 ERA in his first seven big league outings.
"What I've really been pleased about is that no one has been jumping on this and making it a huge deal," Seattle pitching coach Bryan Price said about Hernandez's last two starts. "You look at Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, or John Smoltz, or whoever you want, and have they had back-to-back rough outings over the course of the season?
"Of course they have. Some of them even more than that."
Price didn't have Hernandez change his routine between starts. Instead, he helped the young fireballer identify a few flaws in his approach. Hernandez was making the same mistake in the outings against Baltimore and Texas and after a few bullpen sessions, Price felt the Venezualan was making the proper adjustments.
"My concerns were just a little bit mechanical. He has a tendency to kind of fly open, which is common among power pitchers," Price said. "When you're flying open, it affects your ability to have an effective release point, and that affects his command to where he wasn't able to locate."
Those location problems were especially evident in the the Sept. 11 start Hernandez made against Baltimore. The Orioles scored five runs against the right-hander in the second inning. But, in the end, Price felt that outing taught him a valuable lesson.
"What I really liked was he went out there and gave up one more run in the next five innings," Price said. "That shows his maturity. He didn't quit. He kept himself in the game and saved our bullpen. That was huge and I think he took pride in that."