Hernandez pitches Mariners to win over Brewers
SEATTLE -- Felix Hernandez tossed eight quality innings and the Seattle Mariners used back-to-back seventh-inning home runs from Mike Zunino and Leonys Martin to pull away and beat Milwaukee 8-2 on Saturday night.
Hernandez (8-4) threw seven shutout innings before the Brewers got to him in the eighth. He allowed two runs off seven hits over eight innings, then former closer Steve Cishek came on in a non-save situation and finished off the win.
Solo homers from Zunino and Martin to begin the seventh inning opened up a 4-0 Seattle lead before the Brewers (52-70) finally got on the board on a Ryan Braun RBI double in the top of the eighth. Braun, who drove in a pair of runs with a ninth-inning single Friday, doubled over right fielder Shawn O'Malley to bring Martin Maldonado in from third base while ending Hernandez's shutout bid. Braun came in to score on a Hernan Perez single to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Zunino added a two-run double as Seattle (66-56) scored four more times in the bottom of the eighth to open up an 8-2 lead. The Mariners held on for their 12th win in 15 games and moved to within one game of Baltimore in the American League wild-card race.
Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta (5-9) kept the Brewers in the game for six innings before giving up the two homers in the seventh. He allowed four runs off eight hits over six innings while losing to Hernandez for the second time in as many career meetings.
The Brewers used the two-run eighth to pull within 4-2, but Seattle added another run when Milwaukee second baseman Scooter Gennett's throw hit baserunner Robinson Cano's shoulder as he ran for third base, resulting in the ball going out of play and Cano scoring for a 5-2 Mariners lead. Adam Lind followed that with an RBI double as Seattle pulled ahead 6-2.
Zunino followed with a two-run double. He went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs in the win.
Left fielder Norichika Aoki went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs for the Mariners. Seattle shortstop Ketel Marte added a pair of hits.
Milwaukee third baseman Jonathan Villar went 2-for-4 while recording his 48th stolen base of the season.
Seattle leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki had hits in each of his first three at-bats, including an RBI single in the third and an RBI double in the fourth to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.
The Mariners manufactured a run in the third, taking a 1-0 lead on Aoki's one-out RBI single. Center fielder Leonys Martin led off the inning with a walk, stole second base and moved to third on a Marte groundout. Martin then easily scored on Aoki's single to right.
Two innings later, after a Marte leadoff single, Aoki doubled down the left-field line to put Seattle ahead 2-0.
The Mariners got out of the top of the third inning with one of the ugliest putout throws in recent memory. After Milwaukee's Jonathan Villar went from first base and rounded second base on a deep fly ball, then failed to re-tag the base on his way back to first, the Mariners appealed with a throw to second base. With Villar standing on first base as Ryan Braun came to the plate, Hernandez lobbed a throw that landed a few feet in front of second baseman Robinson Cano, who picked up the ball, tagged second and was awarded the out -- ending the inning.
Hernandez gave up doubles in the first and second innings but ended up stranding both baserunners at third base before hitting his stride. Over the next three innings, Hernandez struck out five and didn't allow a runner to reach second base.
NOTES: The Brewers have now lost six straight and seven in a row on the road. ... Seattle manager Scott Servais announced before Saturday's game that closer Edwin Diaz would get the night off. Servais added that Diaz, who has already made 10 appearances since being named closer Aug. 1 and needed 61 pitches to get through his past two games, might not pitch Sunday either. ... Milwaukee 3B/OF Hernan Perez made his first start at first base this season as every-day 1B Chris Carter served as designated hitter in the American League ballpark. Perez has been swinging a hot bat but has been moving around because of the emergence of 3B Jonathan Villar in the leadoff hole and the Brewers' youth movement in the outfield. ... RHP Felix Hernandez, Seattle's Saturday starter, had faced Milwaukee only one other time in his career. He tossed eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out nine in a 2-0 victory over the Brewers on Aug. 11, 2013. That game also featured Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta, who was on the mound again Saturday. ... Hernandez owned a 21-9 career record and 2.84 ERA (275 2/3 innings pitched, 87 earned runs) in interleague games entering Saturday. ... The Mariners went into Saturday two games back in the American League wild-card standings.