Mariners' Hernandez has start pushed back to Friday

The Seattle Mariners will give their prized starter a few extra days of rest this week, as right-hander Felix Hernandez will take the mound Friday against the Washington Nationals rather than on Wednesday as originally planned, the team announced.

Hernandez has failed to make it out of the sixth inning in consecutive starts and has logged more innings than all but two starters this season, so the Mariners are likely eager to give the presumptive American League Cy Young award winner a little extra rest.

A five-time All-Star, Hernandez owns a 2.07 ERA (180 ERA+) through 27 starts this season, managing a career-best 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 191 innings.