SEATTLE -- After the A's proved Felix Hernandez was human in the first inning Friday night, the Mariners ace went about proving he's also one of the best pitchers on the planet these days as Seattle topped Oakland, 3-2, at Safeco Field.Hernandez reached 11 wins before the All-Star break for the first time in his 10-year career and seems a strong bet to be named the American League starter in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic after finishing up his first half with an 11-2 record and 2.12 ERA. 
After giving up a pair of runs in the first, Hernandez slammed the door on the division-rival A's as the Mariners snapped a three-game losing streak while handing Oakland starter Jeff Samardzija his first loss with his new club.Robinson Cano drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth with an RBI double after Seattle slowly crawled back from its early deficit.Hernandez wound up with just the two runs on six hits over eight innings, with two walks and nine strikeouts. He has now pitched 11 straight games of seven-plus innings with two-or-less runs, the longest such streak by an American League pitcher since Gaylord Perry did the same in 1974.The Mariners improved to 50-43, eight games back of Oakland in the American League West, but a game and a half ahead of Toronto in positioning for the final Wild-Card spot. It's the fifth time in franchise history the Mariners have reached 50 wins by the All-Star break and first since 2003.On a night the usual King's Court in left field was expanded to include a "High Court" with a large section of upper-deck fans joining in Hernandez's yellow-clad cheering section, Hernandez gave up a first-inning home run to Stephen Vogt and an RBI single to Jed Lowrie.The home run was just the second long ball the Mariners ace has surrendered in his last 15 starts and just the sixth (out of 150 home runs) in his career on an 0-2 count.But Logan Morrison got a run back for Seattle with a leadoff home run in the second, Endy Chavez tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the third and the Mariners took the lead at 3-2 on back-to-back doubles by James Jones and Cano in the sixth.Cano's double just inside the left-field line was just Seattle's third hit with a runner in scoring position in its last 36 at-bats, dating back to July 5.Hernandez's 2.12 ERA breaks Randy Johnson's club record of 2.20 for the lowest mark by a starter at the All-Star break set in 1997.Closer Fernando Rodney came on for the ninth and picked up his league-leading 27th save.Greg Johns / MLB.com
After giving up a pair of runs in the first, Hernandez slammed the door on the division-rival A's as the Mariners snapped a three-game losing streak while handing Oakland starter Jeff Samardzija his first loss with his new club.Robinson Cano drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth with an RBI double after Seattle slowly crawled back from its early deficit.Hernandez wound up with just the two runs on six hits over eight innings, with two walks and nine strikeouts. He has now pitched 11 straight games of seven-plus innings with two-or-less runs, the longest such streak by an American League pitcher since Gaylord Perry did the same in 1974.The Mariners improved to 50-43, eight games back of Oakland in the American League West, but a game and a half ahead of Toronto in positioning for the final Wild-Card spot. It's the fifth time in franchise history the Mariners have reached 50 wins by the All-Star break and first since 2003.On a night the usual King's Court in left field was expanded to include a "High Court" with a large section of upper-deck fans joining in Hernandez's yellow-clad cheering section, Hernandez gave up a first-inning home run to Stephen Vogt and an RBI single to Jed Lowrie.The home run was just the second long ball the Mariners ace has surrendered in his last 15 starts and just the sixth (out of 150 home runs) in his career on an 0-2 count.But Logan Morrison got a run back for Seattle with a leadoff home run in the second, Endy Chavez tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the third and the Mariners took the lead at 3-2 on back-to-back doubles by James Jones and Cano in the sixth.Cano's double just inside the left-field line was just Seattle's third hit with a runner in scoring position in its last 36 at-bats, dating back to July 5.Hernandez's 2.12 ERA breaks Randy Johnson's club record of 2.20 for the lowest mark by a starter at the All-Star break set in 1997.Closer Fernando Rodney came on for the ninth and picked up his league-leading 27th save.Greg Johns / MLB.com
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