 pitched into the eighth for the first time this season. He gave up five hits and one walk against seven strikeouts, tying his season high. His one run allowed was his fewest since he threw 5 1/3 scoreless against the Indians in the season opener.Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 21st save.Snell, who was born in Seattle and pitched for nearby Shorewood High School, matched the opening strikeout mark set by Joe Cowley of the White Sox on May 28, 1986, and also reached by Carlos Rodon for the White Sox on Sept. 30, 2016. He was one shy of the major league record held by Jim Deshaies and Jacob deGrom. Snell also tied a club record for most consecutive strikeouts at any point during a game. He allowed two hits and did not walk a batter.Brad Miller's RBI double in the fourth gave the Rays a 1-0 lead, but the Mariners offense pulled ahead in the eighth against reliever Jose Alvarado (0-2).Ryon Healy led off with a walk for the Mariners. Tampa Bay first baseman Brad Miller had Alvarado's throw bounce off his glove on Guillermo Heriedia's sacrifice bunt attempt, putting runners on first and third with no outs.Span tied the game with his RBI single, and two batters later Gordon put the Mariners ahead with a bloop single.Hernandez got into a bases loaded jam with one out in the fifth inning, giving up two singles and hitting a batter. He struck out Joey Wendle and then gloved Matt Duffy's sharp comebacker to the mound to end the inning. After tossing the ball to first for the out, Hernandez jumped and yelled in celebration.Hernandez only gave up one other baserunner in his final three innings, and retired the final eight batters he faced.TRAINERS ROOMRays: RHP Chris Archer left Saturday's start after five innings due to tightness in his groin. On Sunday he said he might miss his next start. ''It's questionable,'' Archer said. ''I'm going to do everything I can to be out there, but not do anything silly to over exert myself.'' . DH C. J. Cron left the game with a right forearm contusion after being hit by a Hernandez pitch in the fifth inning.Mariners: Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, recovering from major shoulder surgery last year, threw a bullpen session Saturday which had been delayed due to a stiff neck. Manager Scott Servais said Iwakuma is ''back on track'' and will face live hitters in a throwing session soon.UP NEXTRays: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will face the Nationals in Washington on Tuesday. Eovaldi will be making his second start since August 10, 2016. In his season debut May 30, Eovaldi threw six hitless innings against Oakland.Mariners: LHP James Paxton (4-1, 3.13 ERA) starts against the Astros in Houston on Tuesday. Paxton was 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA in May. He is coming off a no-decision against Texas, when he gave up two runs on four hits in five innings.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Snell, Rays ready to face Mariners 28m ago• 2 min read Blake Snell might just be a bit more pumped for Sunday afternoon's start than usual.The Tampa Bay Rays left-hander will make his first start in his hometown of Seattle.And it will come against his childhood idol, longtime Mariners ace Felix Hernandez."I'm excited to play at Safeco," Snell told MLB.com. "It's always been a dream of mine. To do it against Felix is going to be even more exciting." Snell (7-3, 2.56 ERA), who has won his past three starts, said facing King Felix might be bigger than pitching at home."With what he's done, it's just hard not to root for him," Snell said.Snell, who starred at Shorewood High School in the suburb of Shoreline, pitched at Safeco Field in the 2010 state semifinals. He went 6 1/3 innings in a 1-0 loss to Richland.He said he expects to have between 15-20 friends and family members in the stands Sunday."I know he is going to be excited," Rays manager Kevin Cash said of Snell. "He should be excited because he is going to have a lot of family and friends here. You always want guys to do good in their hometown. Guys generally get amped up to do it, you just hope they don't put too much pressure on themselves." Snell has made two starts against the Mariners in his career, going 1-1 with a 0.87 ERA.Snell hasn't allowed an earned run in his past two starts and two or fewer runs in five of his past six.Even without suspended second baseman Robinson Cano, an eight-time All-Star, the Mariners are tied with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros atop the American League West after getting a 3-1 win on Saturday."They are a good hitting team, and what they are doing right now is a reason why they are winning," Snell said.Hernandez (5-4. 5.83 ERA) has made 16 career starts against the Rays, going 8-2 with a 1.94 ERA. He threw the only perfect game in franchise history against Tampa Bay on Aug. 15, 2012, a game in which he struck out 12 batters.But Hernandez has struggled this season. He has made just one start of more than six innings in 12 tries. His ERA in the first inning is 12.00."I feel disappointed. I think I'm disappointing my teammates the way I've pitched my last four starts," Hernandez said after his last outing, in which he allowed five runs on six hits in five innings but didn't get a decision in a 9-5 loss to last-place Texas. "That's the way I feel. I just have to figure it out, and go out and compete. The way we're playing, I just need to figure it out and be better." Hernandez, who prides himself on fixing his own mistakes, sought out pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre after his latest appearance."I don't know if I'd call it rock bottom, but he's obviously a guy that's searching or frustrated with the results that he's been getting," Stottlemyre, whose father, Mel, was Joe Torre's longtime pitching coach with the New York Yankees, told The Seattle Times. "I have to look past his history and what he's done. I can only look into how we can get him in a good place that helps us win some games. He can still win some games."
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