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Mariners rout Angels in Hernandez's return

May 16, 2007 - 6:20 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Felix Hernandez was back on the mound. But the Seattle Mariners did their damage at the plate.

Hernandez did not make it out of the fourth inning but Jose Lopez hit a two-run blast as the Mariners used a six-run third inning to post an 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday.

Ichiro Suzuki went 5-for-5, and Kenji Johjima homered for Seattle, which secured its third win in its last four games.

Hernandez was activated from the 15-day disabled list in time to start Tuesday. But the hard-throwing righthander was on a short leash and left after 78 pitches, allowing three runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five and issued three walks.

"I think (Hernandez's outing) was a little better than I anticipated," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said. "I think the amount of runs we scored certainly helped. He also knew we had a 75 pitch limit and I think he was trying to throw those 75 pitches and get through five innings once we scored those runs. He got a little anxious and got out of his game.

But Hargrove said that the most important thing was that his young ace felt great after his return.

"The big thing about Felix tonight was that he didn't feel anything on any of his pitches," Hargrove said. "He felt healthy and strong, and that's good."

The 21-year-old righthander has been sidelined since April 18 after straining his right forearm against the Minnesota Twins.

Prior to that Hernandez pitched 17 scoreless innings to begin the season.

"The arm feels good, no problem," Hernandez said. "I'm happy to be back. In the first inning, I was thinking about my arm and I was a little worried. But after that, I was just thinking about throwing strikes."

Hernandez came within five outs of a no-hitter April 11 at Boston and struck out 12 in eight scoreless frames on Seattle's opening-day win against Oakland.

He has been tough against the Angels in the past, owning a 2-2 mark in four career starts with a 2.64 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings entering Tuesday's contest. However, still rounding into form after his layoff, Hernandez had to rely on his offense.

After Raul Ibanez doubled and Richie Sexson walked to start the sixth, Jose Guillen doubled in Ibanez. Adrian Beltre then singled home Sexson, sending Guillen to third, to make it 5-1. Johjima followed with a sacrifice fly and, after Beltre stole second, Yuniesky Betancourt singled him home. Lopez capped the frame with a two-run blast on the first pitch from reliever Hector Carrasco to make it 9-1.

Relieving Hernandez in the fourth, Sean White (1-0) pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, retiring all 13 batters he faced, to pick up the first win of his career. Jason Davis, making his first appearance since being traded from Cleveland on Sunday, hurled a clean ninth to close it out.

Angels starter Kelvim Escobar (4-2) had his three-game winning streak snapped. He allowed eight runs - six earned - and eight hits in just 2 1/3 frames. It was the first time he gave up more than three earned runs this season.

"This game wasn't all on Kelvim," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "There were certainly some things that happened defensively that opened up some opportunities for them. We just didn't play a good ballgame. They outplayed us in every respect."

But Escobar, who allowed three runs in the first inning, the first time an opponent scored in the opening frame against him this year, shouldered much of the blame for the loss.

"It wasn't a good night for me," Escobar said. "I didn't get ahead and I wasn't able to execute good pitches at times. They just got me. One of those games."

Escobar had tossed his fourth career shutout in his last start, yielding seven hits and striking out nine in an 8-0 victory against the Cleveland Indians.

Orlando Cabrera had three hits and two RBI for Anaheim and is 9-for-17 in his career against Hernandez.

The Angels lost for just the second time in their last seven contests.