Felix Hernandez continued to roll through the Tampa Bay Rays' batting lineup, striking out three batters in the eighth inning to keep his perfect game going.
With a perfect game in his grasp, the Seattle Mariners pitcher added to his totals first by striking out Evan Longoria, who went down swinging on a nasty curve ball. He then mowed down Ben Zobrist and Carlos Pena to move the Mariners past the top of the eighth.
Hernandez now has 10 strikeouts on the day. He's thrown 98 pitches and 66 for strikes.
The Mariners still hold a 1-0 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Behind Hernandez, the Mariners have fielded well and haven't recorded an error on the day.
Up in the ninth inning for the Rays are Jose Lobaton, Elliot Johnson and Sean Rodriguez.
The veteran pitcher out of Venezuela is in his eighth season with the Mariners and holds a career 3.19 ERA with the club.