Happy times return

SEATTLE – As the ball skipped past a diving Marco Scutaro and into left field, the roar that went up from the 37,643 fans at Safeco Field sounded more like a cheer reserved for late-inning heroics than a third-inning hit.

But for a team and a fan base suffering through a seven-game losing streak, Adrian Beltre’s three-run double was more than your typical early game hit.

Powered by Beltre’s big hit, a monster home run by Jose Guillen in Seattle’s four-run fourth, and a solid outing by Felix Hernandez, the Mariners ended their season-long skid with a 7-1 victory against Oakland Friday night.

Guillen, who scored from first on the double, said the excitement was noticeable in the dugout after Beltre’s hit.

“It was great, man,” Guillen said. “Everybody was laughing and there was happiness in everybody’s face.”

Now the Mariners have to hope that recent history can repeat itself following a losing streak. After losing six straight in April, the Mariners won seven of their next eight. The Mariners’ six-game skid in June was followed by 10 wins in 11 games.

Hernandez, looking to bounce back after losses in his last two starts, wasn’t dominant, but he pitched himself out of trouble all night, showing the poise that seemed to be missing in recent starts.

After letting his emotions get the best of him in his last outing against Toronto, the 21-year-old Hernandez stayed calm when he got into trouble.

“What did I learn?” Hernandez said when asked about his last start. “When you lose your focus, that’s what happens.”

The most emotion Hernandez showed all night came after Beltre ended a sixth-inning threat with a diving stop on a sharply hit ground ball with two outs and the bases loaded.

“Oh man, I was so excited,” said Hernandez of Beltre’s play. “That was an unbelievable play.”

Hernadez followed a 27-pitch sixth inning with a 1-2-3 seventh to end his 120-pitch night. He gave up seven hits, struck out seven and walked two. Oakland’s only run came on a first-inning home run by Nick Swisher, who hit two home runs on Thursday.

“He did something that he’s got to do,” McLaren said of Hernandez. “When we score he’s got to put a zero on that board. As soon as he went out there and put up that zero, I went over there and told him, ‘That’s the sign of a good pitcher.’ “