PHILADELPHIA -- Hisashi Iwakuma continued his outstanding second-half performance with eight shutout innings and Kyle Seager hit his 19th home run as the Mariners popped the Phillies, 5-2, on Tuesday to even their Interleague series at Citizens Bank Park.Despite missing the first month of the season, Iwakuma improved to 12-6 with a 2.57 ERA as he set a season high with 11 strikeouts while allowing just four hits and no walks. Iwakuma is 7-2 with a 1.63 ERA over his last 10 starts since July 1, playing an integral part in a pitching staff with the lowest ERA in the American League. 
That pitching has the Mariners squarely in the hunt for their first playoff berth since 2001. With Detroit playing at Tampa Bay, the Mariners moved at least momentarily back into a half-game lead for the final Wild Card spot in the American League postseason chase at 68-57.Seattle has gone 13-5 over its last 18 games and 3-2 on this nine-game road trek, which continues with Wednesday's series finale against the Phillies.Seager's shot leading off the sixth was just his fourth home run on the road this season but 19th overall as the All-Star third baseman is now three shy of the career-high 22 he hit last year. Seager increased his team RBI lead to 78.Catcher Mike Zunino broke things open with a two-run single in the eighth off a tiring A.J. Burnett, giving Seattle a 5-0 lead and capping a 2-for-3 day that also included his AL-leading 14th hit by a pitch.The Mariners had taken a 2-0 lead in the first when Burnett walked the first two batters -- Austin Jackson and Dustin Ackley -- on eight straight balls and the two stole their way to second and third before scoring on an RBI groundout by Robinson Cano and a run-scoring single by Logan Morrison.Burnett walked four and hit two batters while allowing five runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings as his record fell to 6-14 in a 125-pitch outing.Iwakuma had no such control problems as he didn't issue a free pass the entire game. The 33-year-old has walked four batters total in his last 10 starts and just 12 in 147 innings over his 22 starts for the year, a 0.73 ratio per nine innings that puts him well on the way to shattering Jamie Moyer's club record for lowest walk ratio of 1.61 in 1998.The Phillies got their two runs in the top of the ninth off relievers Charlie Furbush and Yoervis Medina following Iwakuma's departure before closer Fernando Rodney came on with two on and two out to get the final out for his 36th save.Greg Johns / MLB.com
That pitching has the Mariners squarely in the hunt for their first playoff berth since 2001. With Detroit playing at Tampa Bay, the Mariners moved at least momentarily back into a half-game lead for the final Wild Card spot in the American League postseason chase at 68-57.Seattle has gone 13-5 over its last 18 games and 3-2 on this nine-game road trek, which continues with Wednesday's series finale against the Phillies.Seager's shot leading off the sixth was just his fourth home run on the road this season but 19th overall as the All-Star third baseman is now three shy of the career-high 22 he hit last year. Seager increased his team RBI lead to 78.Catcher Mike Zunino broke things open with a two-run single in the eighth off a tiring A.J. Burnett, giving Seattle a 5-0 lead and capping a 2-for-3 day that also included his AL-leading 14th hit by a pitch.The Mariners had taken a 2-0 lead in the first when Burnett walked the first two batters -- Austin Jackson and Dustin Ackley -- on eight straight balls and the two stole their way to second and third before scoring on an RBI groundout by Robinson Cano and a run-scoring single by Logan Morrison.Burnett walked four and hit two batters while allowing five runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings as his record fell to 6-14 in a 125-pitch outing.Iwakuma had no such control problems as he didn't issue a free pass the entire game. The 33-year-old has walked four batters total in his last 10 starts and just 12 in 147 innings over his 22 starts for the year, a 0.73 ratio per nine innings that puts him well on the way to shattering Jamie Moyer's club record for lowest walk ratio of 1.61 in 1998.The Phillies got their two runs in the top of the ninth off relievers Charlie Furbush and Yoervis Medina following Iwakuma's departure before closer Fernando Rodney came on with two on and two out to get the final out for his 36th save.Greg Johns / MLB.com
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