HOUSTON -- Felix Hernandez has never pitched out of the bullpen in a Major League regular-season game in his 14 years with the Mariners, but he has made three relief appearances in that span.
"I've done it before," Hernandez noted with a wry look on Saturday afternoon, talking with reporters about his role change for the first time. "I've done it in All-Star Games. So it's not going to be that different."
Of course, Hernandez knows this is different indeed. He acknowledges it has been a struggle mentally since being told Thursday by manager Scott Servais that he'd lost his starting job after going 8-10 with a 5.