Mariners' Hernandez claims AL ERA title with 5 1/3 scoreless innings vs. Angels

Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez has claimed his second American League ERA title with 5 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday vs. the Los Angels Angels to lower his ERA to 2.14.

Hernandez took a 2.18 ERA into his final start thanks to a previous scoring change (see stack below) and needed a strong outing to pass Chicago White Sox lefty Chris Sale (2.17 ERA) for the honor.

Hernandez was lifted from the game as soon as the Oakland Athletics eliminated the Mariners from playoff contention with a 4-0 victory over the Texas Rangers. Seattle had their own 4-0 lead at the time of his departure.

Hernandez did not catch Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw (1.77 ERA) for the MLB lead but did better his AL-best mark from 2010 (2.27 ERA).