Felix leaves game with tight elbow, Mariners lose to Twins

Felix leaves game with tight elbow, Mariners lose to Twins

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher FelixHernandez, right, leaves the game in the first inning as catcher Kenji Johjima (2) and manager Mike Hargrove looks on at a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, April 18, 2007, in Seattle.

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Story Published: Apr 18, 2007 at 10:35 PM PDT

Story Updated: Apr 18, 2007 at 10:35 PM PDT

By Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) - Felix Hernandez left with tightness in his pitching elbow in the first inning, a much bigger concern for the Seattle Mariners than their 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

The Twins held on for the win when Luis Castillo threw out Adrian Beltre at the plate to end the game.

Hernandez recorded just one out and was charged with three runs. The Mariners said the 21-year-old phenom left "for precautionary reasons" and would be re-evaluated Thursday.

After Hernandez threw a 2-1 pitch to Justin Morneau in the first, he grimaced, turned away from home plate and immediately signaled for plate umpire Ed Rapuano to halt the game. The right-hander then motioned for trainer Rick Griffin and manager Mike Hargrove to come out of the Mariners dugout. After Hernandez briefly squatted behind the pitching rubber, Hargrove summoned long reliever Jake Woods out of the dugout to replace Hernandez.

Hernandez (2-1) allowed singles to Minnesota's first two batters, Castillo and Jason Tyner. It took into the eighth inning for Boston to get its only hit off Hernandez in his previous start. On opening day, Hernandez allowed just three hits and struck out 12 in eight scoreless innings of a win over Oakland.

Joe Mauer walked and Castillo scored on a wild pitch. Michael Cuddyer drove in a run with a groundout before Morneau came to the plate and Hernandez was lifted. Woods then allowed an RBI single to Mike Redmond.

Carlos Silva (2-0) shut out the Mariners until Richie Sexson hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning. Silva struck out four, walked one and allowed eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.

He already has as many wins in three starts this season as he had over his first 10 last season, when he finished 11-15 with a 5.94 ERA.

Joe Nathan, pitching for the first time since he suffered his first loss since Sept. 6, 2005, on Sunday, worked the ninth inning for his fourth save in four chances.

Jose Vidro hit a run-scoring single with two outs to make it 5-4. When Cuddyer overran the ball trying to pick it up, Beltre tried to score from first base. Castillo's relay throw to Redmond easily beat Beltre home for the final out.

Hernandez's velocity was near normal, reaching 96 mph on the scoreboard radar gun, but only 12 of his 24 pitches were strikes on a chilly night. His wild pitch that scored Castillo, the first run off him in 17 1-3 innings this season, bounced in the opposite batters' box.

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