Felix Hernandez went from becoming the first American League pitcher in 37 years to hit a grand slam to spraining his ankle covering home three innings later.
The Seattle Mariners righty, not figured into the 5-2 winning decision, nailed his opposite-field grand salami off New York Mets ace and fellow Venezuelan, Johan Santana with two out in the second inning to give Seattle a 4-0 lead. The last AL pitcher to do this was Cleveland's Steve Dunning in 1971, and no Mariners pitcher had ever hit one.
"My approach? Just swing. I closed my eyes," said Hernandez, who hadn't hit a bomb since Little League.In the fifth, Carlos Beltran made a pretty sweet slide into the feet of Hernandez on a wild pitch. After trying a warm-up toss, he had to be helped to the dugout by trainers.
The good news is, x-rays on his ankle were negative and he expects to make his next scheduled start. Hernandez was 6-5 with a 2.83 ERA over 16 starts this season.
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1 comment:
Man.. normally former Twins become awesome when they leave. Johan gives up grand slams and becomes average. Interesting.
I'm smiling on the inside.
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