Hernandez gives up three home runs; M's lose series

ANAHEIM, Calif. — They fought an uphill battle all night as the opponents' drives kept leaving the park.

But the Mariners simply could not avoid being beaten by the best player on the best team in the American League West. Every time Los Angeles Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero strode to the plate Wednesday night, the runners on base in front of him left Mariners ace Felix Hernandez with no place to hide.

And on a night when the Mariners needed their No. 1 starter in top form, the mistake-prone Hernandez reverted to being a 21-year-old with plenty to learn. The third home run yielded by Hernandez, a three-run Guerrero rocket in the sixth, was the difference in an 8-6 loss that erased any ground gained on the Angels in the past week.

"We came here with a chance to really get close, but they played better," Mariners designated hitter Jose Vidro said. "It was tough to get those guys in front of Vladimir out."

Both teams traded runs after Guerrero's fourth homer against Seattle pitching this season put Los Angeles up 7-5. Angels reliever Dustin Moseley carried the lead through the sixth and seventh — earning the win — while Scot Shields tossed a perfect eighth and Francisco Rodriguez a scoreless ninth for his 18th save.

The Mariners fell 5-½ games behind the Angels because Hernandez served up three home runs after going 31-2/3 innings without allowing any. A pair of back-to-back, first-inning bombs to center — a three-run shot by Gary Matthews Jr. and a solo blast from Casey Kotchman — set Seattle on its heels.

Then, after the Mariners rallied from 4-1 down to take a 5-4 lead and knock Angels starter Jered Weaver from the game in the fifth, Guerrero delivered the fatal blow. But the man who entered the at-bat hitting .577 off Seattle this season — with three homers, two doubles and eight runs batted in — once again had some help.

As they had been all series, the top two hitters in the Angels order, Reggie Willits and Orlando Cabrera, were standing on base. Willits got on three times, while Cabrera reached base the first four times he came up.

"You've really got to concentrate there to get those hitters in front of him [Guerrero] out," Vidro said with a sigh.

But the Mariners couldn't, and 39,288 fans at Angel Stadium buzzed with anticipation in the sixth. Hernandez could not afford to walk Guerrero intentionally with nobody out, or to nibble and fall behind.

Hernandez jumped ahead 1-2 in the count with some nasty sliders. He even appeared to strike Guerrero out on a foul tip that catcher Kenji Johjima couldn't squeeze.

But when Hernandez tried to jam Guerrero inside with a 95 mph fastball, it was lined more than 400 feet into the seats in right center. No more hopes of a series victory for the Mariners. No ground gained on a 6-4 trip that ended with Seattle a game worse off in the standings than when it headed to Cleveland last week.

"I did what I wanted to do that at-bat," Hernandez said. "I threw that fastball because I wanted to.

"He hit it. It was supposed to be a fastball, inside. The ball just got up in the zone and he hit it way back."

All the home runs were tape-measure jobs. Matthews had crushed the ball to dead center in the first inning and Kotchman's homer was in the same vicinity.

"Everything was up in the innings he got hit," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said of Hernandez's pitches. "We'll go over it with him, that he's got to stay down."

The Mariners will try to remember this trip for the good things. They will think about runners in scoring position driven home, not the eight left on base.

About the 23-game hitting streak continued by Ichiro with a run-scoring single in the fourth. Not a fielder's choice grounder to third by Vidro right after, with the bases loaded and one out, to help strand three more runners.

They will think about a first three-game series sweep in Kansas City. About taking five of six from the Royals and Devil Rays, then the opener here. Not about losing the final two games to fall to 2-7 against the Angels.

"If we'd won tonight, it would have been a great road trip," Hargrove said. "That's what's disappointing. But the fact is, we had a good road trip."

Just not good enough to make a difference.