Mariners @ Diamondbacks : 10 - 3

Felix Hernandez is carrying himself with more confidence and his Seattle Mariners teammates are following his lead. Hernandez pitched seven strong innings and Jeremy Reed homered to help the Mariners beat the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3 on Wednesday night. Seattle moved one game over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2 on April 7. Kenji Johjima's sixth-inning run-scoring single broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Mariners to their fourth straight win and ninth in 11 games. Seattle then put the game out of reach with three runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth against the Arizona bullpen.

Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, hits a single off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Edgar Gonzalez to lead off the first inning of their baseball game Wednesday, June 28, 2006, in Phoenix.

Shawn Green doubled and had two RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who have lost 19 of their last 22. The Diamondbacks, who led the NL West by 2 1/2 games on June 6, now trail the first-place Padres by 4 1/2 games. With the score 2-2 in the sixth, Jose Lopez doubled to the warning track in left off Edgar Gonzalez (0-2) and went to third on a grounder by Raul Ibanez. After Gonzalez struck out Richie Sexson on three straight pitches, Johjima lined a single to right, scoring Lopez for a 3-2 lead. The Mariners put the game out of reach with three runs in the eighth. Adrian Beltre and Lopez hit consecutive triples and Ibanez singled to make it 5-2. After a walk to Johjima, Reed singled home Ibanez for a 6-2 lead. Lopez finished 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and three runs scored.

Green cut it to 6-3 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Sexson hit a three-run double and scored on Johjima's single in the ninth to make it 10-3. Hernandez (8-7) held the Diamondbacks to the two runs and seven hits while walking one and striking out four for his fifth win in six starts. Seattle had taken a 1-0 lead in the third when Yuniesky Betancourt singled and scored on Beltre's bloop double to right. The Diamondbacks answered in the fourth, tying the game when Luis Gonzalez was hit by a pitch and scored on Green's double. Green moved to third on Johnny Estrada's fly ball to center and scored on Orlando Hudson's grounder to third for a 2-1 Arizona lead. Beltre scooped the ball halfway down the line and looked home briefly before throwing to first for the sure out.

The Diamondbacks' lead lasted two pitches into the fifth when Reed homered into the pool area in right-center field, clearing the fence by inches. Edgar Gonzalez allowed three runs and eight hits over seven innings in his second start of the season. He walked one and struck out four.

Bron: AP