Mariners 2, Athletics 1
Kyle Seager and Corey Hart belted back-to-back homers and Felix Hernandez pitched eight stellar innings to outduel Jon Lester as visiting Seattle won the rubber match of the three-game series.
Hernandez (14-5) allowed one run on three hits to improve to 19-7 lifetime against Oakland and Fernando Rodney notched his 41st save to pull the Mariners within a half-game of Detroit for the second wild card in the American League. Seager collected three hits and went deep for the second day in a row as Seattle sent the Athletics to their sixth defeat in seven games.
Lester (13-10) pitched six scoreless innings before he was touched for the consecutive homers and was charged with two runs on seven hits in eight innings to fall to 0-3 in his last four starts. Newly-acquired Adam Dunn provided the lone offense with a solo shot in the fourth inning for Oakland, which remained 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Angels in the AL West.
Seattle couldn't capitalized on a two-on, two-out situation in the first inning and saw Seager thrown out by left fielder Brandon Moss in the fourth trying to stretch a double into a triple. Dunn then broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the inning, hitting a towering shot inside the right-field foul pole for his second homer in two starts since joining the Athletics.
Lester lost his shutout and the lead in the seventh when Seager led off by hammering a high fastball onto the stairs beyond the right-field wall for his 22nd homer, matching his career high. Hart followed by lining a shot over the fence in left two pitches later for the go-ahead run.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hart, in his first game back after missing more than a month with a bruised knee, went deep for the first time since May 7 - also against Oakland - while Seager extended his hitting streak to eight games. ... Dunn's homer was the 462nd of his career, moving him into a tie with Jose Canseco for 34th place on the all-time list. ... 1B Stephen Vogt exited the game after six innings with a sprained left ankle for Oakland, which hosts Houston on Friday while Seattle opens a four-game set at Texas on Thursday.