An early exit for Hernandez
Even if Livan Hernandez had wanted to sprint off the mound after being relieved in only the second inning last night, he wouldn't have been able to -- his ERA was weighing him down.
For all his toughness, his team-high 15 starts and 97 1/3 innings pitched entering the game, the Nationals starter has struggled this season, often early, and it continued last night.
Hernandez gave up six earned runs on eight hits in just 1 2/3 innings against the Red Sox (increasing that ERA to 5.64) before being relieved by manager Frank Robinson.
``You've seen him before," said Robinson of the veteran pitcher after Boston's 11-3 victory at Fenway. ``He's trying to be too perfect. Maybe he's trying to be too fine."
In Hernandez's second start of the season, on April 8, he picked up the win over Houston despite giving up five runs in the first inning.
But in an 11-3 loss to the Marlins May 4, Hernandez gave up five runs in the first two innings, and the Nationals' overall performance left Robinson ``embarrassed for this team."
Last week against Colorado, Hernandez needed a season-high 138 pitches to go 6 2/3 innings, and he gave up six runs in an 8-1 loss.
``That's baseball," Hernandez said. ``People want it to be like last season [when he went 15-10 and the Nationals contended]. They want you to be perfect. They've got to understand it's not going to be like that all the time."
And it wasn't last night.
Hernandez gave up two singles in the first, but got out of the inning by getting Manny Ramírez to ground into a double play.
Trot Nixon led off the second with a single to center, then Hernandez walked Mike Lowell. Hernandez got Coco Crisp to pop to third, but he gave up a run-scoring double to Doug Mirabelli, who sent a Hernandez offering off the
Alex Cora singled to center, scoring Lowell, then stole second. Kevin Youkilis walked, then Mark Loretta singled to center, driving in Mirabelli and Cora.
Hernandez did get David Ortiz to pop to short.
Ramírez singled to center, scoring Youkilis, then Nixon ripped his second hit of the inning -- a 379-foot double that plated Loretta.
That prompted the hook from Robinson, but by then his ace had given up six runs in the inning, his seventh five-or-more-run outing of the season.
``I don't know," said Hernandez, who had two walks and no strikeouts. ``I started like that early in the season, then it got better, then I did it again last night."
It was the Sox' second-best inning of the season; April 19 they scored seven runs in the third against Tampa Bay.
All the while, Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield was coasting. For someone who had entered last night having received the second-lowest run support of any qualifying starting pitcher in the majors, an inning like the Sox second was like a mirage in the Mohave.
``It was unbelievable," Wakefield said.
Hernandez, who like Wakefield now has a 5-8 record, said he believes he'll improve. In the meantime, he won't make excuses.
``Every five days I'm on the mound, no matter how I feel," said Hernandez, who worked more innings last season (246 1/3) than any pitcher in baseball.
He wouldn't blame the number of pitches he threw in his last outing, or even the surgically-repaired right knee that even Robinson has his questions about.
``I asked him," said Robinson. ``He said it's fine. The trainers said it's fine."
``I know I could do better," Hernandez said. ``It's just difficult right now."
