PITTSBURGH – Felix Hernandez scattered six hits and Jesus Montero broke a tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning off A.J. Burnett to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Wednesday.
Hernandez (5-2) struck out five and walked one to improve to 4-0 in his last five starts while shaving his ERA to 1.53. The right-hander shook off a shaky first inning then settled down to allow four base runners in his final seven innings of work. Tom Wilhelmsen worked the ninth for his ninth save.
Burnett (3-3) was almost as sharp, giving up just two hits over seven innings while striking out nine. Yet he also walked four batters and gave up Montero's third homer of the season with one out in the seventh.