 Instead, all he came away with was a nine-inning no decision as Trevor Plouffe had tying RBI single in the ninth, and Chris Colabello hit a two-run home run in the 13th inning lead the Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
"I felt good -- really, really good," Hernandez said. "I just left the change a little bit up and (Plouffe) handled it up the middle."
Until the ninth, Hernandez was nearly flawless. He had at least one strikeout in every inning, finishing with 11, and didn't walk a batter. He hasn't lost in 11 starts, stretching back to May 25.
The Twins ruined Hernandez's shutout bid when Pedro Florimon led off the ninth with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Plouffe's single. Plouffe's hit ended Hernandez's stretch of 24 1-3 scoreless innings, and 32 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Twins.
"Eight innings of Felix, vintage Felix, obviously not a lot of run support for him," said Mariners acting manager Robby Thompson. "We squandered some opportunities to get him another run or two -- didn't happen."
Hernandez lowered his American League-leading ERA to 2.34. He also leads the league with 153 2-3 innings pitched, with the nine innings against Minnesota a season high.
Hernandez threw 103 pitches, and Thompson said he didn't think about bringing him back out for the 10th.
"He had done his job," Thompson said. "We were going to go to the bullpen from there."
The bullpen also kept the Twins scoreless until Yoervis Medina (3-3) entered in the 13th. Aaron Hicks led off with a single and Colabello -- playing in his 14th major league game -- followed with a two-run homer to right field.
Kendrys Morales led off the bottom of the 13th with his 16th homer, but Glen Perkins closed it out for his 25th save.
Brian Duensing (3-1) pitched two innings for the win.
The only scoring chance Minnesota had in the first eight innings came early, as Brian Dozier led off the game with a single and advanced to third on two grounders. Hernandez struck out Ryan Doumit looking and only one other Twins player would reach scoring position until the ninth inning.
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 Twins pitcher Scott Diamond had one of his best starts of the year as well. Diamond pitched into the seventh inning, giving up one run on five hits, with a walk and a strikeout.
"When you're matching up against someone like Felix, you know you've got to bring your A game and really attack hitters," Diamond said. "I knew kind of what I was getting into today, and I kind of fed off it. It's something you look forward to, and it's the reason why you pitch at this level."
The game was scoreless until the Mariners broke through in the fifth inning, although they were unhappy with a call which may have cost them more.
Dustin Ackley led off with a single and then Brendan Ryan hit a possible double-play ball to shortstop Florimon. The toss to second baseman Dozier popped out of his glove, but umpire Chris Guccione ruled the ball was caught and Ackley was out.
Henry Blanco sent Ryan to third with a bloop single, and Nick Franklin drove him home with a two-out single up the middle to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
The Mariners were the first team to get a runner in scoring position in extra innings, as Endy Chavez and Franklin hit two-out singles in the 12th, but Raul Ibanez struck out to end the threat.
"It was one of those nights," Franklin said. "The outcome isn't always right but we grinded and played defense -- it just didn't end up on a good note."
NOTES: Seattle placed C Mike Zunino on the 15-day DL because of a broken bone in his left hand. Zunino will undergo surgery next week and the expected recovery time is six weeks. ... The Mariners signed free-agent C Humberto Quintero, who was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Wednesday.
[Associated
Press; By DAIMON EKLUND]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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