Mariners' Hernandez reaches milestone, beats A's
The Sports Xchange
Sep 26, 2017
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Right-hander Felix Hernandez passed the 2,500-inning milestone with six innings of two-hit ball Monday night, pitching the Seattle Mariners to a 7-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.
Mitch Haniger, Mike Zunino and Yonder Alonso, all of whom have ties to the San Francisco Bay Area, combined for four home runs in support of Hernandez for the Mariners, who beat the A's for a seventh straight time.
Marcus Semien accounted for the only run off Hernandez with a solo homer in the sixth inning for the A's, who saw a season-best, seven-game winning streak come to an end.
Hernandez (6-5) allowed a first-inning single to Matt Joyce and the sixth-inning homer to Semien in a 70-pitch effort that produced his first win since July 15.
Making his 375th career start, Hernandez reached 2,500 innings when he struck out Jed Lowrie for the second out of the fourth inning.
The 31-year-old became just the second active pitcher to complete 2,500 innings for the same team, joining Justin Verlander in that distinction.
Verlander accomplished the feat for the Detroit Tigers before getting dealt to the Houston Astros this season.
In recording his 160th career win, Hernandez ran his record against the A's to 25-9, including 13-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.
He walked two and struck out two.
Zunino, whose dad, Greg, played baseball at nearby Cal, gave his batterymate all the offensive support he would need with a three-run homer in the second inning off A's starter Daniel Gossett (4-10).
Zunino's 24th homer followed a Kyle Seager walk and one-out single by Alonso to give Seattle an early 3-0 lead.
Haniger, a product of Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, added to the run-away win with a solo home run in the third inning and two-run shot in the fifth.
The two-homer game was the first of his two-year career and ran his 2017 total to 16.
Alonso's homer, a solo shot, came in the fourth inning.
Traded to the Mariners from the A's for Boog Powell last month, Alonso had two hits in the game, including the homer, his 26th of the season.
The Mariners totaled only seven hits, five of which went for extra bases.
Semien's homer was his eighth of the season.
The A's, who had won their previous eight home games, finished with just four hits.
Mariners left-hander Andrew Albers, pitching out of the bullpen for just the third time this season, complemented Hernandez with three innings of two-hit relief for his first save.
Gossett was pulled one out into the fifth inning with the A's trailing 7-0. Four of the six hits he allowed were homers. He walked two and struck out four.
The four home runs equaled the total number that Gossett had given up in his four previous September starts.
NOTES: Athletics manager Bob Melvin announced before the game that slugging 1B Matt Olson (strained hamstring) likely will miss the entire Seattle series and might be done for season. Olson was injured stretching for a throw during Sunday's win over Texas. ... Likewise, Mariners manager Scott Servais ruled SS Jean Segura (sprained middle finger) out for the series, with the possibility of returning for the final regular-season series against the Los Angeles Angels. ... For the second game in a row, A's C Bruce Maxwell took a knee during the playing of the national anthem, which was performed by the Oakland Unified School District Honor Band. Members of the band knelt in unison during the performance.
Sep 26, 2017
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Right-hander Felix Hernandez passed the 2,500-inning milestone with six innings of two-hit ball Monday night, pitching the Seattle Mariners to a 7-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.
Mitch Haniger, Mike Zunino and Yonder Alonso, all of whom have ties to the San Francisco Bay Area, combined for four home runs in support of Hernandez for the Mariners, who beat the A's for a seventh straight time.
Marcus Semien accounted for the only run off Hernandez with a solo homer in the sixth inning for the A's, who saw a season-best, seven-game winning streak come to an end.
Hernandez (6-5) allowed a first-inning single to Matt Joyce and the sixth-inning homer to Semien in a 70-pitch effort that produced his first win since July 15.
Making his 375th career start, Hernandez reached 2,500 innings when he struck out Jed Lowrie for the second out of the fourth inning.
The 31-year-old became just the second active pitcher to complete 2,500 innings for the same team, joining Justin Verlander in that distinction.
Verlander accomplished the feat for the Detroit Tigers before getting dealt to the Houston Astros this season.
In recording his 160th career win, Hernandez ran his record against the A's to 25-9, including 13-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.
He walked two and struck out two.
Zunino, whose dad, Greg, played baseball at nearby Cal, gave his batterymate all the offensive support he would need with a three-run homer in the second inning off A's starter Daniel Gossett (4-10).
Zunino's 24th homer followed a Kyle Seager walk and one-out single by Alonso to give Seattle an early 3-0 lead.
Haniger, a product of Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, added to the run-away win with a solo home run in the third inning and two-run shot in the fifth.
The two-homer game was the first of his two-year career and ran his 2017 total to 16.
Alonso's homer, a solo shot, came in the fourth inning.
Traded to the Mariners from the A's for Boog Powell last month, Alonso had two hits in the game, including the homer, his 26th of the season.
The Mariners totaled only seven hits, five of which went for extra bases.
Semien's homer was his eighth of the season.
The A's, who had won their previous eight home games, finished with just four hits.
Mariners left-hander Andrew Albers, pitching out of the bullpen for just the third time this season, complemented Hernandez with three innings of two-hit relief for his first save.
Gossett was pulled one out into the fifth inning with the A's trailing 7-0. Four of the six hits he allowed were homers. He walked two and struck out four.
The four home runs equaled the total number that Gossett had given up in his four previous September starts.
NOTES: Athletics manager Bob Melvin announced before the game that slugging 1B Matt Olson (strained hamstring) likely will miss the entire Seattle series and might be done for season. Olson was injured stretching for a throw during Sunday's win over Texas. ... Likewise, Mariners manager Scott Servais ruled SS Jean Segura (sprained middle finger) out for the series, with the possibility of returning for the final regular-season series against the Los Angeles Angels. ... For the second game in a row, A's C Bruce Maxwell took a knee during the playing of the national anthem, which was performed by the Oakland Unified School District Honor Band. Members of the band knelt in unison during the performance.
