Hernandez pitches in with slam to beat Mets
One moment, Felix Hernandez was rounding the bases in glee after hitting the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years.
A few innings later, he was spiking his cap to the ground in frustration after being injured. Hernandez hit a stunning grand slam off Johan Santana, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in the Seattle Mariners' 5-2 victory over the Mets last night in New York.
Hernandez connected off Santana (7-6) with two outs in the second inning to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.
"My approach? Just swing. I closed my eyes," said Hernandez, who figured it was his first home run since Little League. "I was happy and I was thinking that's all I need - four runs."
The opposite-field shot to right-center was the first home run by a pitcher in Mariners history, and the first slam by an AL hurler since Cleveland's Steve Dunning went deep against Oakland's Diego Segui on May 11, 1971, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Three innings later, Hernandez sprained his left ankle while covering home plate on a run-scoring wild pitch. Carlos Beltran slid hard into the feet of Hernandez, who left the game one out short of being eligible for a win. After trying a painful warmup pitch, he had to be helped to the dugout by team trainers.
X-rays were negative and Hernandez expects to make his next scheduled start.
Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-1) struck out three in two perfect innings to get the win, and Arthur Rhodes earned his first save since 2006 with Philadelphia.
Brewers 4, Braves 1 - Ben Sheets (9-1) gave up only four hits in a dominant complete-game performance and improved to 6-0 in 10 road starts, helping Milwaukee beat Atlanta.
Angels 3, Nationals 2 - Garret Anderson's eighth-inning single drove in the go-ahead run after visiting Los Angeles took advantage of two Washington errors in the inning to beat the Nationals.
Royals 8, Rockies 4 - Brian Bannister (7-6) picked up his third straight victory, Mark Teahen hit a three-run homer, and host Kansas City beat Colorado for its eighth win in nine games.
