New York, NY (Sports Network) - For the second consecutive month, a Seattle
Mariners pitcher took home top honors in the American League.
Felix Hernandez was rewarded on Tuesday for his performance in August, as
Jason Vargas had been for the month of July.
Hernandez racked up a 4-0 record which included three shutouts, a 1.08 earned
run average, and 31 strikeouts against five walks over 41 2/3 innings.
The 26-year-old cemented his place in Mariners lore by tossing a perfect game
in a 1-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, becoming the first
pitcher in franchise history to perform the feat. Hernandez, a native of
Venezuela, was just the second foreign-born pitcher in baseball annals to toss
a perfect game -- the first being Nicaraguan-born Dennis Martinez for Montreal
in July of 1991.
For the right-hander, it is his third career monthly honor, after winning in
both June and September of 2009.
Other hurlers receiving votes included Baltimore Orioles reliever Jim Johnson,
Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer and Kansas City Royals reliever Greg
Holland.
The Sports Network