Seattle, WA – Raul Ibanez gave Felix Hernandez some support with a home run and four RBI, and the Seattle Mariners handed the Chicago White Sox an eighth straight loss, 7-4, in the middle portion of a three-game series at Safeco Field.
Nick Franklin and Kendrys Morales each had two hits and an RBI to back a solid start by Hernandez (7-4), who limited the White Sox to six hits and four runs over 7 1/3 innings.
Hernandez's counterpart was a fellow former Cy Young Award winner, but Jake Peavy (6-4) wasn't around long due to rib soreness in his right side. Before exiting, Peavy surrendered six runs for the second consecutive time out and was knocked around for seven hits in just 2 1/3 frames.
Adam Dunn hit a solo home run for Chicago, which ended a seven-game string of scoring three runs or less but still came up short.
Tyler Flowers chased Hernandez with an RBI double in the eighth, then scored on Alejandro De Aza's base hit to cut the White Sox's deficit to 6-4.
Oliver Perez got out of the inning by inducing a double-play ball off the bat of Gordon Beckham, and Michael Saunders scored an insurance run in the home half via a walk, two steals and Kelly Shoppach's sacrifice fly.
Tom Wilhelmsen worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to secure his 14th save of the season. He had blown three of his previous four opportunities entering the series.
Morales countered Conor Gillaspie's run-scoring groundout in the first inning with an RBI single in the bottom half. Ibanez followed Morales' base hit by taking the first pitch he saw over the right-field wall for his 11th home run of the year and second in as many days.
"He's just a professional hitter," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said of Ibanez, who turned 41 on Sunday.
In the away second, Dunn hammered a Hernandez offering to straightaway center, ending Chicago's seven-game homerless drought, but the Mariners responded with three runs in the third.
With two on and one out, Ibanez delivered a double to right field to plate Morales and Jason Bay. After the sharp line drive, White Sox manager Robin Ventura and the team trainer joined Peavy on the mound, and after a brief conference the right-hander exited the game.
"Early on you could see...(he) didn't seem to have the zip that you normally see," Ventura said of his starter. "I think it got worse for one reason or another just watching him throw."
Franklin greeted reliever Brian Omogrosso with a drive to deep right field that was originally ruled a home run. Upon review, however, it was revealed the ball hit the top of the wall, and Franklin was awarded an RBI double.
Game Notes
The Mariners snapped a six-series winless streak ... Chicago has dropped nine in a row on the road ... The last time the White Sox lost eight straight overall was from Sept. 14-21, 2010 ... Peavy came in 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three career starts at Safeco Field ... Hernandez recorded eight strikeouts and improved to 4-5 in 14 career starts against the White Sox ... Chicago lost consecutive games to the Mariners for the first time since Sept. 16-17, 2009 after having won eight straight in Seattle entering the series ... Hisashi Iwakuma will try to pitch the Mariners to a sweep Wednesday opposite fellow righty Dylan Axelrod.
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