PEORIA, Ariz. -- Two days after learning he wasn’t going to be the Mariners’ Opening Day starter for the first time in more than a decade, Félix Hernández came out firing in the first three innings of Seattle’s Cactus League game against the Indians on Sunday. But two walks and

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Two days after learning he wasn’t going to be the Mariners’ Opening Day starter for the first time in more than a decade, Félix Hernández came out firing in the first three innings of Seattle’s Cactus League game against the Indians on Sunday.

But two walks and four straight singles without an out in the fourth ended those good times, as the former American League Cy Young Award winner saw his Cactus League ERA climb to 15.95 in three starts.

Hernandez’s final line was three-plus innings with six hits, seven runs, two walks and three strikeouts on 63 pitches.

These aren’t the best of times for the longtime ace. The 32-year-old right-hander is accustomed to being the leading man in the Mariners’ rotation, but he suddenly finds himself in a supporting role -- clearly billed as the team’s fifth starter after the worst season of his career in 2018, in which he went 8-14 with a 5.55 ERA.

Not only is Hernandez not pitching on Opening Day in Tokyo, he’s not expected to get a regular-season start until the fifth game, after Seattle returns from Japan, against the Angels on April 1 at the newly-renamed T-Mobile Park.

In the meantime, Hernandez will start one of Seattle’s two exhibition games in the Tokyo Dome against the Yomiuri Giants prior to the A’s series, then an exhibition game in Seattle against the Padres prior to the home opener.

Hernandez acknowledged that he was upset by the Mariners’ decision to end his run of 10 straight Opening Day starts before saying he had no comment on the decision, other than “I knew it was going to happen.”

As for being held out until the fifth game of the first homestand?

“What do you want me to say?” he said.

“I don’t know,” came the reply.

“Exactly. I don’t know either.”

So the Mariners head toward the season in an awkward position with a pitcher who has spent his entire 14-year career with the franchise while racking up six All-Star appearances and a perfect game.

Hernandez is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $27 million this season, and he has said he wants to keep pitching for several more years, but his ERA has gone from 2.14 to 3.53, 3.82, 4.36 and 5.55 over the past five seasons and he clearly isn’t part of the Mariners’ youthful rebuilding plans.

Hernandez said he didn’t think he could have done anything this spring to change manager Scott Servais’ mind on his place in the rotation, but his performances didn’t speak loudly either. In three Cactus League games, he allowed 13 hits and 13 earned runs with three walks and eight strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

Only a leadoff homer to Oscar Mercado in the third stained his initial three frames on Sunday, but two walks to lead off the fourth were followed by four straight singles and a trio of runs. Reliever Jorgan Cavanerio entered the bases-loaded, no-out jam and allowed all three inherited runners to score.

“Felix has made a concerted effort this spring to work the curveball in more early in counts and early in the game and he didn’t do that today,” Servais said. “He was able to get through the first couple innings, but it caught up with him the second time through the order. He needs to continue to work that in. It’s one of his better pitches, and he didn’t go to it today.”

Hernandez reacted on the mound to the first walk and appeared angry as he left the field.

“I was ticked about the strike zone,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter. I fell behind a few hitters and walked them. But other than that, everything was fine. … If you saw, it was just ground balls finding holes and a couple walks. I felt pretty good. Now I’m tired, but I felt pretty good. It was good to get to 65 [pitches].”

Hernandez and the Mariners will fly to Japan on Thursday, so his next appearance will come in a Tokyo Dome exhibition game. And while he’d prefer to pitch Opening Day, Hernandez is happy about one thing.

“I’m ready to go,” he said. “I’m done with Arizona.”