 struck out Javier Baez to end the seventh inning and got the first two outs of the eighth before Willson Contreras doubled. Schwarber then drove Brennan's changeup into the second deck in right field for his first homer since April 8.Brad Brach (3-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win and Steve Cishek got four outs for his first save of the season.Seattle put its first two batters on in the ninth, but Tim Beckham bounced into a double play and Cishek struck out Jay Bruce to end the game. Cishek pumped his arm emphatically Bruce looked at a called third strike with Domingo Santana on third.The Mariners grabbed a 5-4 lead on Edwin Encarnacion's leadoff drive in the seventh. Schwarber was a spectator as Encarnacion's eighth homer - and the 60th for Seattle this season - sailed into the bullpens beyond the fence in left field. The shot silenced the thousands of Cubs fans that showed up for Chicago's first game in Seattle in six years.They had plenty to cheer a few minutes later.Daniel Descalso hit the first leadoff home run of his career on the second pitch from Seattle starter Felix Hernandez. Anthony Rizzo added his sixth homer of the season in the fifth inning, a two-run shot that gave the Cubs a 4-3 lead.Cole Hamels struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings for Chicago. He was charged with four runs, two earned, and six hits.Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez allowed multiple home runs in a game for the second time this season. He allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings.TRAINER'S ROOMCubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said reliever Brandon Morrow had an injection in his right elbow on Monday and won't throw for two or three weeks.Morrow had offseason surgery on his elbow. He was shut down recently after not recovering well from a bullpen session.ON THE FARMSeattle optioned outfielder Mallex Smith to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled Braden Bishop. Smith went hitless in his previous 24 at-bats spanning a stretch of 10 games. The struggles at the plate seemed to carry into the field where Smith had made errors in each of his past two games and had a potential leaping catch bounce off his glove and over the fence for a home run during the 10-game stretch.MOVING UPHernandez matched a season high with eight strikeouts. He is four shy of 2,500 for his career.UP NEXTCubs: LHP Jon Lester (1-1) pitches back home for the first time since the 2014 season.Mariners: LHP Marco Gonzales (5-0) tries to remain perfect on the season.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
King Felix faces Hamels as Mariners host Cubs The Seattle Mariners got a vintage performance from Felix Hernandez his last time out.And they gave him some vintage run support.Hernandez (1-2, 3.91 ERA) pitched seven innings in San Diego, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts, yet took a 1-0 loss Wednesday.The Mariners hope to give him a bit more support Tuesday when he faces the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a two-game series at T-Mobile Park. Left-hander Cole Hamels (3-0, 3.16 ERA) is scheduled to oppose King Felix."That's probably the best outing I've seen from Felix Hernandez since I've been with the Mariners," said fourth-year manager Scott Servais. "I thought he was awesome. He followed the game plan. He executed. He had a really good curveball and got that going to his benefit. I feel bad we couldn't extend the game or give him the win." It was the 130th time in his career that Hernandez pitched seven-plus innings while allowing one run or fewer. He's 89-7 in those outings, with a remarkable 34 no-decisions."It stinks (we) couldn't get him a win," teammate Daniel Vogelbach told The Seattle Times. "He did everything and more for us to win this game ... we couldn't get a couple of big hits. It just wasn't our day at the plate." Hernandez said he used a different approach against the Padres."They like to swing early and they are aggressive," he told The Times. "I was just trying to pitch backwards. It was fun to pitch like that when you have good movement on your fastball and you are painting the corners." Hamels, who went 9-12 last season pitching for Texas and the Cubs, has also been turning in some vintage performances.He had won three straight starts before allowing a home run to the Los Angeles Dodgers' Cody Bellinger in the sixth inning of his last outing Wednesday, leaving without a decision in a game Chicago eventually won 7-6.Hamels had allowed just three earned runs over his previous three starts before giving up three to the Dodgers."The past couple of games, just really trying to stay focused on throwing strikes and executing," Hamels told MLB.com. "That's obviously the key to going deep in a ballgame and keep guys off the basepaths: throwing strikes and trying to get outs early ... it's just always been on my mind this whole season, even in spring training. It's maintaining that desire to execute strikes and obviously not give away free passes." Hamels is 7-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 14 career starts against Seattle, while Hernandez is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts against the Cubs.The Cubs and Mariners both had a day off Monday -- and both needed it. The Cubs played 15 innings to beat host Arizona 6-5 Sunday; the Mariners suffered 15-1 and 14-1 losses at home to Texas over the weekend.-- Field Level Media
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