King Felix gets back on track : Mariners starter Felix Hernandez was able to himself back into the win column during Monday night's contest against the Rangers. Hernandez, who was making 10th start of the year, allowed just one run on six hits over eight innings in the 6-1 win. The lone run he surrendered came in the eighth inning on a Mitch Moreland solo home run. He was pulled after finishing out the frame at 111 pitches and left with seven strikeouts and two walks, while improving to 4-3 on the season. (Updated 05/22/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
After allowing 10 earned runs over his previous two starts, Hernandez was finally able to get himself back on track on Monday night. The big right-hander kept Texas' big bats off balance for most of the game and showed much better command of the strike zone. Despite his recent rough patch, Hernandez has still put up good numbers this season and will look to keep things rolling when he makes his next start, which is scheduled for Saturday against the Angels. The 26-year-old has posted a 3.67 ERA in 25 career starts against Anaheim. Leave him active in all formats heading into his second outing of Fantasy Week 8 (May 21-27). (Updated 05/22/2012).
05/25/2012 02:42 The Lineup: Dan Haren spins a gem, Braves laying eggs
Dan Haren struck out a career-high 14 batters and didn't walk a batter in his shutout victory over the Mariners. The Braves hit just .150 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds.
05/22/2012 01:13 M's knock out Darvish, defeat Rangers
Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners chased Texas' Yu Darvish after just four innings in his shortest start of the season, and the Mariners rolled to their fourth straight win in a 6-1 victory over the Rangers on Monday night.
05/20/2012 22:47 The Lineup: Lucroy explodes, Yu vs. King Felix on tap for Monday
3 Up, 3 Down; On Deck; Pepper. It's The Lineup. Today's version gives some love to Jonathan Lucroy, Ryan Cook and Scott Van Slyke. We also look ahead to Yu Darvish vs. Felix Hernandez and have a video of an instant replay FAIL in Japan.
05/20/2012 08:36 Top 70 starters for Week 8
A lot to take into consideration before setting your pitching staffs for Fantasy Week 8. Our Al Melchior runs through his Top 70 starting options and has all the matchups.
After winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2010, Felix Hernandez had a bit of a disappointing campaign a year ago. While he posted 14 wins in 33 starts, his 3.47 ERA and 1.22 WHIP where both up from the season before. Most of his struggles came in the second half, when he went 6-7 with a 3.91 ERA over his final 13 starts. Still, he was able to strike out 200 batters for the third straight year and pitched five complete games while leading the Mariners in wins and ERA. The 25-year-old enters 2012 as one of the top starters in baseball again and should be able to continue his dominant run of pitching. He is a lock for at least 200 innings with a ton of strikeouts and a sub-4.00 ERA so target him in the early rounds on Draft Day. Despite poor offensive support in Seattle, Hernandez should be considered a Top 10 Fantasy starting pitcher. (Updated 2/17/12)