King Felix makes statement in return to mound

SEATTLE -- For one night, at least, Félix Hernández looked more like the Felix of old than the old Felix.

Pitching in a Major League game for the first time in 15 weeks, the Mariners’ former ace held Toronto to three hits and two runs -- on a pair of solo home runs -- and struck out four over 5 2/3 innings before the Blue Jays rallied against Seattle’s young bullpen for a 7-5 win on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.

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“That was fun,” Hernandez said. “Finally I’m back on the mound. That was pretty good.”

The 33-year-old right-hander faces a great deal of uncertainty regarding his future as he enters the final five weeks of a seven-year, $175 million contract with the only team he’s ever pitched for in his sterling 15-year career.

But after dealing with right shoulder issues since his last start on May 11, Hernandez came off the 60-day disabled list with a strong performance and moved past Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson into 37th place on the all-time strikeout list with 2,505.

“That’s a heck of an outing, a heck of a way to get back on the field,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais. “I’m really happy for him. There’s been struggles here the last couple years staying healthy and people want to write him off and everything else. But when the bell rings, if he’s got enough in the tank to go out and compete, he does a heck of a job. Too bad we didn’t get him the win tonight.”

With a King’s Court cheering him on like the old days -- even in a stadium filled largely by Blue Jays fans who made the trek south from Canada -- Hernandez served notice that he’s ready to at least close out the season in Seattle’s rotation, despite a 1-4 record and 6.09 ERA in nine starts this injury-plagued season.

“I really appreciate everything,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been here for a long time. Just to be out there with my teammates and competing, it was fun.”

The only damage done to him by the Blue Jays came on a pair of third-inning blasts -- a 428-foot shot by Teoscar Hernandez into the second deck in left field, followed by a 408-footer by Bo Bichette -- that tied the game at 2.

Mariners catcher Omar Narváez answered in the fifth with a three-run homer, his 19th of the season, to put Hernandez into position for his first win since his season debut over the Angels on April 1, before Toronto tallied four times against relievers Matt Wisler and Reggie McClain in the seventh.

Hernandez has acknowledged he needs to get back out on the mound in the remaining weeks to prove he still can pitch in the big leagues as he approaches the end of his contract.

He pitched four Minor League rehab games in the past few weeks, but never got past four innings and 69 pitches. He struggled to locate his changeup in his first game back and avoided disaster on his first pitch of the game when Bichette blasted a 411-foot fly ball that rookie center fielder Jake Fraley tracked down at the wall.

But with a chance to show what he could do once more, in front of a largely pro-Toronto crowd, the veteran cranked things up.

“You saw it tonight, 35,000 people in here, most of them from the other team,” Servais said. “He really thrives on that and always has throughout his career. It’s a testament to the competitor he is. He really enjoys it and likes that environment.”

And as he departed, Hernandez was warmed by a standing ovation from the crowd, including the Blue Jays’ supporters.

“It’s been a long time,” said Hernandez, whose next start will come Thursday at Texas. “But I worked my butt off to try to get back. And I did.”

Seattle (55-75) lost for just the second time in its past seven games, while Toronto (53-79) snapped a six-game losing streak.