Felix Hernandez strikes out 12 as Seattle beats Texas

SEATTLE — Felix Hernandez struck out 12 over seven innings, and Mike Zunino’s first home run of the season gave Seattle the lead for good as the Mariners snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday. Hernandez (2-0) was brilliant on his bobblehead night, allowing one run and two hits. The ace right-hander struck out 10 or more batters for the 34th time in his career and beat Texas for the first time since July 14, 2012. Zunino’s homer came after a miserable first 10 games when he struck out in nearly half his at-bats. Zunino’s drive went 412 feet into the second deck in left on the first pitch of the fifth inning from Colby Lewis (1-1) and gave Seattle a 2-1 lead. Brad Miller added a two-out RBI triple in the sixth as Seattle finally came through with a runner in scoring position and two outs. The Mariners left the bases loaded twice and ran themselves out of scoring opportunities in each of the first three innings. Austin Jackson was sent by third base coach Rich Donnelly while trying to score from first on Robinson Cano’s one-out double in the first and was thrown out at the plate by 10 feet. Kyle Seager attempted a delayed steal of second on a ball in the dirt in the second inning and was easily thrown out. And Miller was picked off second base by catcher Robinson Chirinos with one out in the third. Ultimately the baserunning issues didn’t matter because of Hernandez’s pitching. Leonys Martin was the only Texas batter to get a hit off Hernandez, reaching on a broken-bat double in the first and singling in the fifth inning when Texas got its only run. Hernandez’s 12 strikeouts were his most since recording 15 against Tampa Bay in June 2014. Martin was the only Texas batter not to strike out. The only mistake Hernandez made was hitting Jake Smolinski on the hand on a check swing in the fifth inning. The play was reviewed but the call stood. Smolinski advanced to third on Martin’s single and scored on Elvis Andrus’ grounder. Struggling closer Fernando Rodney worked a perfect ninth for his third save in four chances.

Trainer’s room

Rangers: Mitch Moreland was out of the lineup again with an elbow injury. Moreland went through early batting practice but was not in the Rangers lineup for the second straight night. Mariners: Seattle activated SS Chris Taylor from the 15-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Tacoma. Taylor had been playing with Tacoma as part of a rehab assignment after fracturing a bone in his right wrist during spring training.

Up next

Rangers: Left-handed Ross Detwiler (0-2) will make his third start after getting knocked around in his first two. Detwiler has allowed five earned runs in both of his outings this season. Mariners: Lefty James Paxton (0-1) gets his third start. Paxton has gone at least six innings in his first two starts of the season, but allowed five earned runs in his last outing against the Dodgers.