Worth noting

By Greg Johns

August 24, 2013

• After striking out 10 batters in six innings on Friday, Felix Hernandez trailed only Yu Darvish of the Rangers among Major League pitchers in that category. Darvish is at 214, with Hernandez at 192. However, Detroit's Max Scherzer struck out 11 on Saturday to overtake Hernandez with 196 strikeouts.

Hernandez is averaging 9.36 strikeouts per nine innings and is on pace for 245 for the season. His career high is 232 in 2010.

• Hernandez's 10 strikeouts marked his 25th career game with double-digit K's, but only the second time he has rung up 10 in fewer than seven innings.

• Beginning with Saturday's matchup against Vargas, the Mariners are facing left-handed starters in four of their next five games. The Mariners have hit .228 this season against lefty starters, compared to .249 against right-handed starters, but they do have a 19-21 record against southpaws compared to 40-47 against righties.

Greg Johns is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregJohnsMLB as well as his Mariners Musings blog.