Felix Thinks Win Streaks Are Lame, Mariners Lose to Rangers 9-5

You can’t win them all, but you should have won this one.

If there is one pitcher Felix Hernandez is able to beat right now, it’s Austin Bibens-Dirkx. The Mariners offense got off to a quick start on the 33-year-old goateed righty. In the first, the M’s notched four straight base runners and plated three, doing most of the damage on a Mitch Haniger double.

The Mariners would add another on a screaming line drive home run off the bat of Nelson Cruz. This was a big night for Cruz, who has struggled due in part to multiple injuries in the early season. Hopefully, this is a sign that Cruz is on his way to returning to form.

However, the early offensive explosion would not be enough for the Mariners.

Felix was awful once again. Per usual, he started off the game by allowing a first-inning solo home run to Shin-Soo Choo. The next inning saw Joey Gallo rip a double right over Gordon Beckham, who was positioned in shallow right field. Ronald Guzman followed up with a slow roller up the middle that allowed Gallo to rush home from second.

As Felix has done most of the season, he settled in for a few innings. It seemed like had finally found his groove. The Mariners were up 4-2 and looked to be cruising to a fifth straight victory. But Felix decided to further prove just how bad he really is now.

Alas, the Rangers loaded the bases with no one out. Felix couldn’t locate any of his pitches and paid the price.

James Pazos checked in and immediately threw a wild pitch, scoring a run. Then, on the next pitch, a passed ball by Mike Zunino that ricocheted off of home plate umpire Jerry Meals’ facemask. That would score yet another run.

The final allotted runner by Felix would also come around to score on another Guzman single. Suddenly the Mariners were down 5-4.

Before we go further into the game, we need to have a discussion. This has to be said at this point.

Felix Hernandez is not only the worst starting pitcher on the Mariners, but he’s one of the worst starting pitchers in Major League Baseball.

For the casual fans who will go to war for Felix: it’s okay to appreciate what he’s done in the past, but still, criticize how bad he has been. It’s very similar to the Ichiro situation.

Honestly, this is more annoying than the Ichiro situation.

Why? Because we’re paying Felix $24 million to do this. Not only are we paying him that this year, but next year as well. What does that mean? He’s pitching every fifth day for the Mariners, barring injury.

No team will ever want him. We are stuck with him for the next season-and-a-half.

Some will argue that, yes, we shouldn’t expect Felix to provide 1, 2, or even 3-starter production. But even as a fifth starter, he has been god-awful. This is not an overstatement, he has statistically been one of the worst starters in the MLB.

Felix is 81st out of 97 pitchers with a minimum of 50 innings pitched in xFIP, posting a horrid 4.75. Some of the names he is behind are Derek Holland, Doug Fister, and Mike Minor. Yeah, he’s been bad.

Okay, rant over. Now back to the game.

After Pazos allowed all three of his inherited runners to score, Ryan Cook stepped in to save the day. It wasn’t pretty, as Cook hit the first batter he faced on his very first pitch. It appeared that Cook would go on to hit the second batter, Delino DeShields, on the second pitch of his night.

At this point, I was ugly-crying (on the inside).

Fortunately, it was reviewed and Cook would get DeShields to strike out swinging. Cook would walk the bases loaded, but got out of it by striking out Jurickson Profar looking.

Now, it was up to the offense to do what they have consistently done in the month of May: pull another comeback out of thin air.

Initially, the Mariners thought it’d be great to just add to the annoyance of this game. For the sixth and seventh innings, the M’s were lethargic at the plate and failed to muster a whole lot in their at-bats.

In the eighth inning, however, they finally got something going against Texas reliever Chris Martin. After Ryon Healy struck out, Ben Gamel reached on a base knock to left. Then Mike Zunino was hit by a pitch (surprise, surprise).

Guillermo Heredia pinch hit for Gordon Beckham. He fell in an early 0-2 hole but knocked a pitch at the top of the zone through the second base hole. Bases loaded for Jean Segura.

Segura, who was 3-4 at the time, grounded out but Ben Gamel was able to cross home. Tie game. It was now second and third, two outs, for Denard Span. But the newest Mariner left fielder was unable to give his new ballclub the lead and we headed to the ninth inning tied.

The happiness was short-lived and the annoyance soon returned. In came Edwin Diaz, and out went the ballgame. Diaz, who has been spectacular all year, had his worst outing of the season. His command was absolutely terrible and it bit him in the worst way.

The Rangers were able to load the bases on Diaz, and Rougned Odor delivered the knockout punch with a bases-clearing double. Ronald Guzman later notched an RBI double off Chasen Bradford, adding a fourth earned run to Diaz’s awful night.

For how well the Mariners have been playing, that was just a nightmare of a game to watch. What seemingly was a win in their grasps, soon became one of the biggest meltdowns of their season.

The Mariners are now 33-21, still one game behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West. The Angels won tonight, so they are now three-and-a-half games back of the Mariners for the second wild card.

Next: Two Trades that Saved the Mariners

But hey, baseball is great and the Mariners get to redeem themselves tomorrow. James Paxton (4-1, 3.10) faces off against Matt Moore (1-5, 7.99 ERA) in a battle of southpaws. Moore is coming off the DL after dealing with a knee injury. ROOT Sports has the call at 10:10 PM PT.