The Seattle Mariners have placed right-hander Felix Hernandez on the injured list with a strained right shoulder, a day after he became the 36th pitcher in major league history to reach 2,500 strikeouts.
Hernandez (1-4, 6.52 ERA), 33, didn’t make it out of the third inning in a 9-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, getting tagged for seven runs and six hits in 2⅓ innings. He has allowed 14 runs in his past two starts over 7⅓ innings and is 0-4 since winning his first start of the season.
He collected his milestone strikeout when he got rookie Michael Chavis looking with a 92 mph sinker. Hernandez is the fourth active pitcher to reach the mark, behind the Yankees‘ CC Sabathia, Houston‘s Justin Verlander and Washington‘s Max Scherzer.
The stumbling Mariners have lost 14 of 18 and have been outscored 23-6 in the first two games of a scheduled three-game series against the Red Sox.
They also optioned outfielder Braden Bishop to Triple-A Tacoma.
To fill the spots on the roster, they recalled right-hander Dan Altavilla from Double-A Arkansas and selected righty Parker Markel from Tacoma.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.