Wake Up With Felix Hernandez Striking Out 8 On The Anniversary Of His Perfect Game
A loss of velocity doesn’t always have to mean a loss of production. Four years ago, Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15, 2012, the 23rd perfect game in major league history. King Felix averaged 92.89 MPH with his fastball that season. Even back then, there was widespread panic over Hernandez’s drop in velocity, because he averaged 98.64 MPH with his fastball as a starter in 2007. That’s a drastic drop-off from 2007 to 2012, but now he’s all the way down to averaging just 91.14 MPH in 2016, which is obviously the lowest velocity of his major league career. When you lose that much fastball velocity, you find out who the pitchers are, and who the throwers are. Felix Hernandez is a pitcher.
With the win, the Seattle Mariners are 11-2 over their last 13 games, which is the best record in the MLB over that span. Over their last 13 games, Mariners’ starters have an ERA of 3.75, which is good for 8th best in the American League. Decent. But, Seattle’s bullpen has an ERA of 1.06, the best mark in the majors. The next best bullpen in the MLB over that span belongs to the Royals, who have more than double the ERA of the Mariners (2.35), while the league average is almost four times what the Mariners’ bullpen has compiled (3.83).