 pitched two scoreless innings for the win on a day Cruz sent a rare shot into the second deck of seats in dead-center.'' Just another homer,'' cracked Cruz with a grin. ''I was kind of surprised.'' The hit left Felix Hernandez shaking his head.'' He crushed that one,'' Hernandez said. ''He said he's still got more in the tank.'' Lee hit his third and fourth homers, connecting in the seventh against Axford (2-1) as the Mariners had a season-high 16 hits and improved to an AL-best 11-4 on the road. The A's lost their fourth straight. Coach Edgar Martinez offered a little of his hitting expertise to Lee complete with John Axford's tendencies.'' Those are the kind of wins that stick with you for a while,'' first-year Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Sean Manaea was denied his first career win despite Oakland getting to nemesis Hernandez on consecutive fifth-inning errors, while Hernandez had seemed poised to become the winningest pitcher in Mariners franchise history with victory No. 146. One error came when the ace fumbled Josh Reddick's dribbler with a chance to throw out the tying run at home. Khris Davis' grounder got past third baseman Kyle Seager moments later as the A's scored two more for a 6-4 lead, and Hernandez's day was done. Cruz connected for a two-run drive to highlight Seattle's four-run fifth against the rookie left-hander Manaea, making his second big league start. But that lead was short-lived as the A's came back for an 8-4 advantage they would then squander. Hernandez matched his shortest outing against Oakland of four innings on May 16, 2006. The bullpen delivered.'' I should have made that play, that groundball. That was a weird inning,'' Hernandez said. ''The offense, they got my back, they picked me up today. The bullpen was really good, too. That was awesome. That was a great win for us.'' Joel Peralta struck out two in the eighth, and Steve Cishek earned his eighth save in as many tries. Marcus Semien hit his team-leading seventh home run in the third off Hernandez to put the A's ahead, and Billy Butler drove in two runs including a run-scoring single in the fifth. Butler made his first start at designated hitter in a week and only his ninth in the first 29 games.'' We finally get some hits, some good swings, make him work, get some runs off him and kind of let him off the hook,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''So disappointing.'' Manaea hung tough after Cruz's big blast while opposing one of baseball's best pitchers. The lefty, who made his major league debut last Friday against Houston after only 42 appearances in the minors, allowed four runs, all earned, on seven hits in five innings, struck out six and walked one. He punched his pitching hand into his glove in celebration after retiring Norichika Aoki on a groundout to end the third. Aoki hit an infield single in the fifth and has hit safely in his last 15 games against Oakland. Ketel Marte followed with an RBI double before Robinson Cano's RBI single. Aoki added a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Seattle is 8-0 in the last eight one-run games at the Coliseum. Sean Doolittle hadn't allowed a run over his previous eight games and 6 1/3 innings before surrendering two runs in two-third of an inning. Hernandez is 11-3 at the Coliseum, one win shy of Tommy John for most career victories by a visiting pitcher in Oakland. TRAINER'S ROOMMariners: RHP Tony Zych, placed on the 15-day DL with tendinitis in his rotator cuff, flew to Seattle on Tuesday to be seen by a doctor but Servais didn't have an immediate update. Athletics: OF Coco Crisp left the ballpark to be seen by a doctor for a non-baseball medical issue. He's also dealing with a heel injury that would have kept him out of the lineup for the series finale with an off day Thursday. UP NEXTMariners: LHP Wade Miley (2-2, 5.06 ERA), coming off his first career shutout in a five-hitter against Kansas City, takes the mound at Houston on Thursday night. Athletics: LHP Rich Hill (3-3) starts at Baltimore on Friday looking to stay unbeaten on the road. He is 3-0 with 0.95 ERA away from the Coliseum.
)
Time: 03:35 P.M. EST Venue: Oakland Coliseum
It's fitting Felix Hernandez's first shot at becoming the Seattle Mariners' all-time leader in wins is against the team he has beaten the most. As the visiting Mariners look for a series sweep, the right-hander can achieve that milestone with a 23rd career victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. Hernandez (2-2, 1.38 ERA) matched Jamie Moyer's club mark of 145 victories Friday when he gave up five hits in 7 2/3 innings of a 1-0 win over Kansas City. He broke Randy Johnson's team record for strikeouts last month, and currently has 2,170 in 12 seasons.'' He's been the face of the franchise here for a long time," manager Scott Servais said. "It's nice watching him." Opponents are batting .165 and have homered twice off Hernandez, who is proud to have his name associated with Moyer's." I know Jamie pretty well,'' Hernandez said. ''For me, it's an honor to be with him.'' The Seattle ace has a good chance to surpass Moyer and improve on a 22-8 record and 2.58 ERA that's come over 41 starts against the A's (13-15). He allowed three hits and struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings of a 2-1, 10-inning loss to Oakland on April 10.'' Felix comes out of the game and you almost feel like there's momentum that's in your dugout just by the fact that he's out of the game,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said after that contest. Seattle (15-11) was swept in that three-game home set last month by Oakland, but can return the favor with a seventh consecutive win at the Coliseum and an 11th victory in 14 contests overall. Kyle Seager hit a three-run homer and Robinson Cano had a solo shot as the Mariners pounded out 13 hits to improve to 10-4 on the road with Tuesday's 8-2 victory. Among the major league leaders with 25 RBIs, Cano is 7 for 12 this month. Seager is 6 for 15 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs in four games to raise his average from .139 to .181. The Mariners will try to stay hot against Sean Manaea, who returns to the mound for the A's after allowing three of his four runs in the sixth inning during a 7-4 win over Houston in his major league debut Friday. Though the numbers might not say so, the left-hander seemed to leave a positive impression on his teammates." I thought he was great,'' first baseman Yonder Alonso said. ''I think his command was great and his poise was incredible. That's what I really liked about him.'' Jed Lowrie had two hits with a RBI on Tuesday for Oakland, which has totaled six runs while going 0-3 in May.'' It's temporary. We have to be tough outs and stay within ourselves. It will come,'' said outfielder Khris Davis, who homered for the third time in two nights. ''We have to have the confidence we'll pick each other up.'' While Lowrie is batting .404 with seven RBIs in 15 games, Josh Reddick is 4 for 27 in seven. Reddick is batting .135 in 52 at-bats against Hernandez. Lowrie went 1 for 3 with a double off him last month.
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Seattle Mariners
Oakland Athletics
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (5/4/2016)
SportsBettingPros
