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M’s Hernandez has off day and Sox take advantage

Chicago’s Conor Gillaspie slides home safe as Mariners catcher Kelly Shoppach fields late throw in fifth inning. (Associated Press)
Jay Cohen Associated Press
Chicago’s Conor Gillaspie slides home safe as Mariners catcher Kelly Shoppach fields late throw in fifth inning. (Associated Press)

CHICAGO – Felix Hernandez struggled with his command almost from the start. And for a while, he still had enough to keep the Seattle Mariners in front of the Chicago White Sox.

One big swing by Alex Rios sent the game in a different direction.

Hernandez left a change-up in the wrong spot in the sixth inning and Rios drove it into the seats in left field for a clutch two-run homer in Seattle’s 4-3 loss to Chicago on Saturday.

“I had the fastball. I didn’t have the command,” Hernandez said. “The command was not there. I was just trying to make good pitches. But the wind was really hard. Just one mistake – the homer.”

Rios’ drive on an 0-2 pitch sliced through a swirling wind and gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead. Alejandro De Aza singled and Dewayne Wise struck out before Rios connected for his second homer in two days. He also went deep Friday night, but the White Sox lost 8-7 in 10 innings.

Hernandez (1-1) allowed four runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings in his first try for win No. 100. The right-hander, who turns 27 on Monday, struck out three to give him 1,498 for his career.

De Aza and Hector Gimenez each had a sacrifice fly as Chicago improved to 25-5 against Seattle since the start of the 2010 season. The White Sox will send ace Chris Sale to the mound on today against Hisashi Iwakuma in the rubber game of the weekend set.

Seattle pulled within one on Michael Saunders’ two-run homer in the eighth, but the rally fizzled from there. Jesse Crain wriggled out of a jam to get the ball to Addison Reed, who tossed a perfect ninth for his third save.

“We had some scoring opportunities late,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “We just didn’t really come up with anything. Saunders got us back in the game. We just weren’t able to capitalize on some of the opportunities we created for ourselves.”

The Mariners grabbed the lead in the second when Raul Ibanez doubled, moved up on a passed ball and scored on Jeff Keppinger’s two-out error in his first start of the season at first base. An error by pitcher Jose Quintana led to a five-run inning for the Mariners on Friday night, but Keppinger’s mistake on Dustin Ackley’s grounder proved to be a minor speed bump for the White Sox.

Third baseman Conor Gillaspie turned a slick double play to stop a Seattle threat in the fifth, then led off the bottom half with a drive over the head of Michael Morse in right for a triple. Alexei Ramirez grounded out for the first out, but Gimenez delivered a tying sacrifice fly.

Gillaspie went 2 for 3 and scored twice in his first start of the season. It also was his first game against Hernandez.

Rios went deep in the sixth and De Aza tacked on a sacrifice fly in the seventh as Hernandez dropped to 1-5 with a 4.88 ERA in eight career road starts against the White Sox.

Donnie Veal (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.

Notes

Mariners OF Franklin Gutierrez started the game on the bench, then struck out as a pinch hitter in the ninth. “I’m trying to keep him ahead of it,” Wedge said. “It was a long night last night and the cold weather and everything, it felt like it’s a smart thing to give him a day today.” Gutierrez played in just 40 games last season due to a myriad of injuries. … Ackley is off to a slow start for the Mariners. He went 0 for 3 and is stuck in a 1-for-19 rut.