Red Sox 4, Mariners 2
SEATTLE -- The Boston Red Sox kept Seattle ace Felix Hernandez to his shortest outing in more than a month Saturday night, when they handed him his first loss of the season by way of a 4-2 victory over the Mariners.
Hernandez (6-1) allowed four earned runs, two of which came on solo homers, over six innings. He issued a season-high four walks, three of which came after he tweaked his left ankle in the top of the sixth inning.
Boston (18-19) took advantage of Hernandez's control problems after the injury, as the Red Sox drew three walks and got an RBI double from catcher Blake Swihart on the way to a 4-2 lead in the sixth.
Red Sox third baseman Pedro Sandoval and designated hitter David Ortiz each had solo homers off Hernandez, while Seattle designated hitter Brad Miller hit a pair of home runs for the Mariners (16-20).
Boston starter Rick Porcello (4-2) was out-dueling Hernandez even before the injury. He allowed five hits and two earned runs while striking out six in 6 2/3 innings.
Red Sox closer Koji Uehara came on in the ninth to earn his third save in four days and his ninth of the season.
Hernandez seemed to settle down from the two solo homers as the game headed into the sixth inning with the score tied at 2. On his fourth pitch of that frame, Hernandez appeared to catch the cleats of his left shoe in a divot on the pitching mound during his release. He was in visible pain, drawing a mound visit from manager Lloyd McClendon and a team trainer, but Hernandez remained in the game.
He finished off that at-bat by getting Sandoval to ground out to second base, but Hernandez walked the next two batters before Swihart gave Boston a 3-2 lead with the RBI double to left-center. Another walk, issued to No. 9 hitter Jackie Bradley Jr., loaded the bases before Brock Holt drove in a run with an RBI groundout to first base for a 4-2 Red Sox lead.
Hernandez came out after the inning, marking his shortest outing since he went just five innings in his second start of the season on April 12.
Hernandez entered the game with a 6-0 record for the first time in his career and was aiming to be the first Seattle pitcher to start a season 7-0 since Aaron Sele did it in 2001.
Ortiz and Swihart each had two hits for the Red Sox, while Seattle was held to five hits and has now scored just five runs over the first three games of the series.
Solo home runs accounted for all of the early offense, with two of them coming off Miller's bat.
Miller gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the first before Boston countered with two runs of its own. Sandoval tied the game with a homer in the top of the second, then Ortiz took Hernandez over the right field fence with two outs in the third to put Boston ahead 2-1.
The Ortiz home run was the fifth allowed by Hernandez in a span of three games. He allowed just five total runs during that stretch, all of them coming on solo homers.
Seattle had a chance to tie the score wiped out by a big bounce in the fourth inning, when center fielder Dustin Ackley hit a towering shot into the gap in right-center with a runner on first base. The baserunner, third baseman Kyle Seager, would have easily scored on the play, but the ball bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double -- thereby sending Seager back to third. The next batter, shortstop Chris Taylor, grounded into an inning-ending out.
Miller added his second solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, when he took Porcello deep to right field to tie the score at 2.
NOTES: Boston went with a lefty-heavy lineup Saturday that featured four players who'd been on the bench the previous night. The Red Sox were featuring four left-handed bats and two switch-hitters because they were facing Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez. ... Mariners CF Austin Jackson, who has been on 15-day disabled list since May 4 because of a sprained ankle, began his rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday. Jackson is eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday, and it's likely he'll be back with the Mariners before next weekend. ... Former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is scheduled to make his return to Fenway Park this week. Valentine, who managed the Red Sox for one season in 2012, is part of ESPN's broadcast crew for the Wednesday game against the Texas Rangers. ... Boston is expected to call up RHP Steven Wright before Sunday's game to start in place of injured Justin Masterson. Wright, who has already made two spot starts this season, made his starting debut at Seattle in July 2013, when he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings. ... Former Seattle pitcher Aaron Sele, who went 8-0 to start the 2001 season, was the last Mariners pitcher to win his first seven decisions of a season. Hernandez had a chance to get to 7-0 with a win Saturday night. ... Saturday was Turn Back the Clock Night at Safeco Field, so both teams wore throwback jerseys to honor the 1946 Seattle Steelheads of the West Coast Negro Baseball League.