PEORIA, Ariz. -- During a spring training filled with small, nagging injuries, the Seattle Mariners believe they caught a fortunate break after Felix Hernandez took a line drive off his right arm.
Hernandez said Tuesday he is still very sore after a liner off the bat of the Chicago Cubs' Victor Caratini hit Hernandez in the right forearm. The injury happened in Hernandez's first spring training start a day earlier.
X-rays were negative, but Hernandez still had enough swelling in the elbow area after he arrived in the Mariners clubhouse Tuesday morning that he couldn't fully straighten his arm.
There was initial concern Hernandez had suffered a significant injury. Hernandez went down to a knee, hopped up and walked around in obvious pain. He headed to the dugout with a trainer holding his arm.
The ball hit Hernandez on a tattoo signifying his All-Star Game selection in 2013.
"That hurt real bad. I can't explain how bad it was. I didn't feel anything like that before,'' Hernandez said.
"I finished the pitch and I saw the ball coming and I said 'Oh my God.' And then my brother told me yesterday, 'Why didn't you pick the ball up and throw it to first?'''
The ball caught Hernandez just below his right elbow, hitting directly on a star tattoo with '13' on the inside, signifying his All-Star Game selection in 2013.
Hernandez was still unable to fully straighten his right arm when he arrived in the clubhouse Tuesday morning because of the swelling in the area around his elbow.