Felix Hernandez on Sunday took an important step toward returning to the Mariners’ rotation.
Hernandez, on the disabled list since April 26 with right shoulder bursitis, retired the first 14 batters he faced in his second rehab start for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers on Sunday afternoon.
His final line: five innings, one hit, one run, one walk and five strikeouts.
That’s a significant improvement from Hernandez’s first rehab start for Tacoma last week, when he allowed five runs (including a grand slam) in just two innings of work.
Hernandez is scheduled to make a third rehab start before returning to the Mariners’ rotation.