Felix Hernandez stretched out on a leather couch in what was basically an empty Mariners clubhouse. The rest of his teammates either were in meetings, out on the field warming up or doing other preparation for Thursday night’s game vs. the Tigers.
But until the team went on the field for batting practice, there was little for him to do. His baseball work for the day was done.
About a half-hour earlier, he had been on the T-Mobile Park pitcher’s mound – a place he hadn’t stood since April 30 – and threw to hitters.
Hernandez threw 22 pitches of live batting practice as part of his months-long recovery from a latissimus dorsi strain.