Hernandez, Cano lead Mariners to 8-3 win over A's

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Felix Hernandez felt a little different waiting an extra few days to take his turn in the rotation. The results were still the same.

Hernandez pitched eight strong innings, Robinson Cano drove in two runs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 8-3 Saturday night for their fourth straight win.

''I had good command, good mechanics,'' Hernandez said. ''I felt weird though. It's different than going every five days.''

Logan Morrison and Shawn O'Malley each homered as the Mariners matched their season-best win streak from May 8-12, which included a three-game sweep of the A's.

Mark Trumbo, Kyle Seager and Brad Miller also drove in runs.

''We sprinted to the lead and held on,'' Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. ''I thought the guys swung the bats real well.''

Mark Canha hit a home run and Billy Butler had two RBIs for the A's, who lost their fourth straight. Stephen Vogt went 2 for 3 against Hernandez and is hitting .524 (11-for-21) against him.

Hernandez (16-8) allowed three runs and six hits in his eight innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out nine.

''I felt Felix was pretty sharp tonight,'' McClendon said. ''He relaxed a little bit with two outs in the one inning but other than that I thought he threw the ball pretty good.''

A's starter Jesse Chavez (7-14) allowed five runs on six hits in two-plus innings, his shortest outing of the year. He walked a season-high five and struck out two.

''What's going on is inconsistency,'' Chavez said. ''One inning it will be good, one inning it will be bad. I have to get back to basics and let my stuff work.''

Hernandez, pitching for the first time in 10 days, improved to 11-3 in Oakland, tied for second-most wins by an opposing pitcher and one behind Tommy John.

Seth Smith had three hits as the Mariners finished with 14 against five A's pitchers.

Can's two-run double in the first opened the scoring. Miller added an RBI single later in the frame. Morrison, who drove in three, added a two-run homer in the third and O'Malley hit a solo shot in the fourth.

Hernandez gave up all three runs and four hits in the fourth. Canha led off with a home run and Butler added a two-run single. The A's have hit a home run in a season-best 11 straight games.

TRAINER'S ROOM:

Mariners: Nelson Cruz (quad) said he felt better but was still not in the starting lineup for a third straight day. Manager Lloyd McClendon said Cruz is ''50-50'' for Sunday. ... Franklin Gutierrez (groin) was not in the starting lineup after leaving Friday night's game early. McClendon said the injury was not as bad as first thought.

Athletics: Sam Fuld could return to action when the A's open a home series against the Houston Astros on Monday. ... Josh Reddick left the game with an illness after the third inning.

UP NEXT

Mariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (6-3, 4.22), who threw the Mariners' fifth no-hitter on Aug. 12, makes his 10th appearance and ninth start against the A's on Sunday. He's 4-5 with a 4.78 ERA against them.

Athletics: LHP Sean Nolin makes his Oakland debut on Sunday. He's making his first major league appearance since pitching an inning of relief for the Toronto Blue Jays last September, and his first start in two years. He will be limited to no more than 90 pitches.