"Two fingers held out by Felix Hernandez after his final spring-training tuneup were the celebratory equivalent of a fist-pump.

Hernandez, who had been mowing down a minor-league intrasquad team of mostly Class AA hitters for seven innings Sunday morning, was signaling the dugout that he wanted to face two more batters. He needed to get some work in from the stretch position, and had so dominated the opposing hitters that just four of them had reached base the entire contest.

"I wanted to feel comfortable from the stretch, so I told them I need two more hitters and I want a runner on first," Hernandez said afterward.

That was about the only way the hapless minor-leaguers could reach base against the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner. Hernandez allowed just two singles — one of the infield variety — and two walks while striking out 10.

He got to face five hitters in a couple of innings, meaning he actually worked a total of 8-1/3 frames in his 103-pitch effort. Hernandez's curveball had particular bite, and the hitters he faced could barely get their bats to touch it.

It was the kind of final outing the Mariners had hoped for from their ace. They kept Hernandez out of their 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Rangers on Sunday afternoon because he will pitch in Texas the second series of the season.

A healthy, strong-looking Hernandez is about the best thing going right now for a club with a plethora of key decisions to make the final few days of camp. The Mariners are expected to announce shortly that Franklin Gutierrez will miss the first part of the regular season because of a mysterious stomach problem that has sidelined him for all but nine Cactus League games.

And it looks like they'll be adding a surprise or two to the roster before the season opens Friday in Oakland."