DETROIT — The struggling Seattle Mariners will be without ace Felix Hernandez for at least a little while.

The Mariners placed Hernandez on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday with right shoulder inflammation after he lasted just two innings in his start at Detroit the previous night. Seattle also put outfielder Mitch Haniger on the DL with a strained right oblique.

Hernandez came out of the 19-9 loss to the Tigers after allowing four runs in two innings.

“He didn’t feel great warming up last night,” Manager Scott Servais said Wednesday. “He went out for the second inning and just didn’t feel great, just dead. No sharp pain or anything like that, just the ball wasn’t coming out (well).”

Haniger left the game in the third inning.

The Mariners also optioned right-handers Chris Heston and Evan Marshall to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled right-hander Chase De Jong, left-hander Dillon Overton and outfielder Ben Gamel from Tacoma, and purchased the contract of right-hander Casey Fien from Tacoma.

PIRATES: Gift Ngoepe, the first African to reach the major leagues, singled in his first plate appearance Wednesday night.

The 27-year-old Ngoepe, recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier Wednesday, entered the game in fourth inning as part of a double switch and finished 1 for 2 with a walk.

Ngoepe was born in Pietersburg, South Africa, and attended high school in the suburbs of Johannesburg. He is considered the Pirates’ best defensive prospect.

To make room, Pittsburgh sent reliever Dovydos Neverauskas back to the minors. Neverauskas became the first Lithuania-born-and-raised player to pitch in the majors when he appeared Monday in a loss to the Cubs.

GIANTS: Leadoff hitter Denard Span suffered a setback in his recovery from a shoulder injury and was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday.

Span is suffering from a sternoclavicular joint sprain he appeared to sustain after crashing into the outfield wall at Coors Field on Saturday. He has not played since then.

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