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After leaving today’s spring training game in the second inning due to a hard come-backer line drive that nailed Seattle Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez in the upper-right forearm, X-rays have returned as negative, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
Fernandez threw a quick one-two-three first inning that included strikeouts of Cubs hitters Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo, but was forced out of the game the following inning due to a liner off the bat of Victor Caratini. That line shot took Hernandez to the ground in a significant amount of pain, but thankfully for baseball fans, the X-rays have returned negative results.
The 2010 Cy Young winner has struggled to stay completely healthy since the 2015 season making just 25 starts in 2016, and only 16 last season. In limited time, Hernandez went 6-5 with a 4.36 ERA, the highest since the 2006 season.
With the emergence of James Paxton and a solid bullpen behind the rotation, the M’s will not count on Hernandez to be as dominant as he has been in previous seasons. Still, if Seattle looks to making a postseason push in 2018, they will rely on a mostly healthy season from King Felix. Though his spring training is not off to the greatest start, Hernandez is just day-to-day, and all indications point to him being ready to go in a couple of days.