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HOUSTON — When the situation had finally reached the point of embarrassment in the third inning, an escalation that quickly worsened from bad to awful to please make it stop, two things became clear.
Felix Hernandez didn’t want to be out on the mound for one pitch more.
And Seattle manager Scott Servais didn’t want him try to throw another pitch, which probably would have been walloped for a double or misplayed by one of his fielders.
The erstwhile Mariners ace couldn’t hand the ball to Servais fast enough as he left the mound, ending a gruesome pasting that has to make him question his future beyond this season.
By that point, a loss was guaranteed, meaning the Mariners would not a win a game this season at Minute Maid Park. The only drama would be how bad they’d get pummeled. The result was a 21-1 beatdown by Houston, the Mariners’ 11th straight loss against Houston this season.
It was Seattle’s worst defeat of the season. The 21 runs allowed were a season high as were the 22 hits and 14 extra basehits. Houston set a record with 11 doubles in the game.
The Mariners record vs. the Astros this season is now 1-16. Seattle went 0-10 at Minute Maid.
To be fair, the Astros have bullied their American League West foes this season. They are 10-5 against Oakland, 8-3 against Los Angeles and 10-6 against Texas.
That’s a combined 44-15 record. Houston is 27-2 vs. AL West teams at home.
Seattle still has to play the Astros two more times — Sept. 24-25 — in the final homestand of the season.
Hernandez worked a 1-2-3 first inning, retiring George Springer, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman in order. In the second inning, he struck out Yordan Alvarez and got Aledmys Diaz to ground out.
Even after he walked Kyle Tucker and allowed a double to Abraham Toro, Hernandez appeared he would escape the inning unscathed when he got slow-footed catcher Martin Maldonado to hit a routine ground ball to shortstop. But Dee Gordon, who was making a rare start at shortstop, misplayed the ball, allowing two runs to score.
Hernandez’s next pitch after the Gordon miscue was crushed off the back wall behind the left-field fence by Jake Marisnick for a two-run homer.
“Made a costly error early and then it got away from us after that,” Servais said.
After a meeting with Servais, Hernandez got George Springer to fly out to end the inning.
Hernandez returned for the third inning and wouldn’t record an out while facing seven batters and the rout was on.
“The team offense was incredible today,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “We put up good at-bat after good at-bat. We scored double-digit runs before we hit our first single. That’s the kind of day it was. It was a special day for our offense.”
Hernandez was credited with two innings pitched, 11 runs allowed (seven earned) on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout. The 11 runs tied the most Hernandez has allowed in a game.
Hernandez was asked what he tried to do to get out of the third inning.
“Everything,” he said. “When you’re making mistakes, you’re going to get hit, especially against the Astros.”
Down 13-0, the Mariners flirted with the possibility of being no-hit for the third time this season. Gerrit Cole was perfect through three innings, striking out six of the nine batters he faced. But Shed Long provided Seattle’s only hit and run, leading off the fourth inning with an opposite-field solo homer into the Crawford Boxes in left field.
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