Following the worst start of an otherwise outstanding career, Felix Hernandez answered with a routinely dominant performance.
Which version of Hernandez will be on display against the Kansas City Royals remains to be seen, but the Seattle Mariners will hope for the latter when they open a three-game series Monday night.
Hernandez (10-3, 3.08 ERA) was hit hard at Houston on June 12, allowing eight runs while recording only one out in a 10-0 loss. The outing matched both the shortest and most earned runs allowed of Hernandez's 11-year career.
He rebounded with eight shutout innings Wednesday against San Francisco in a 2-0 victory, his league-leading 10th.
"I keep running out of words to describe this guy," manager Lloyd McClendon told MLB's official website. "I expected that he would come back strong. I thought he was a little bit more pumped. (But) I can't imagine him being more focused than he usually is."
The right-hander is 4-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 11 starts against the Royals (39-27), but this will be his first matchup since 2013.
Kansas City enters this series after losing two of three to Boston following an 8-2 stretch. Chris Young became the latest Royals starter to struggle, allowing seven runs over 4 2/3 innings in Sunday's 13-2 loss as the team's ERA reached 9.98 in the three-game series.
Joe Blanton (1-0, 1.80) will look to reverse that trend after pitching well in his first start of the season Wednesday. The right-hander allowed one run in five innings of a 10-2 win against Milwaukee -- his first victory as a starting pitcher since June 29, 2013.
"It was about what I expected. Joe's been throwing the ball really, really well," manager Ned Yost said. "Going into it, the game plan was to see if we could get him through five innings, between 70 and 80 pitches with the lead, and it all worked out perfectly."
Blanton had 73 pitches in that win as he continues to extend his arm from a brief bullpen stint to begin the year, and Yost expects him to last close to 90 pitches on Monday.
Blanton is 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA in his last three starts against Seattle (32-38), all of which took place in 2013, and will face a Mariners offense that has yet to hit a groove despite a weekend series win against the Astros.
Nelson Cruz, Mark Trumbo and Seth Smith all hit home runs in Saturday's 6-3 win, but the Mariners followed with only four hits in a 6-2 defeat Sunday.
Seattle, which ranks 14th in the AL in runs (238) and last in batting average (.231), has scored two or fewer 12 times in its last 18 games.
Kyle Seager is 2 for 14 in his last four games, and Austin Jackson is hitless in his last three as the Mariners have averaged 5.5 hits in their last six contests.
Kansas City has been more consistent at the plate, recording double digits in hits in six straight games before it had nine Sunday. Alex Gordon is hitting .400 in those seven games, while Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar each have eight RBIs.
Eric Hosmer has found success against Hernandez, going 4 for 9 with a double, and Kendrys Morales is batting .292 with a home run and four doubles.
