Seattle’s Felix Hernandez strikes out career-high 13 in 2-0 win over Oakland

Seattle’s Hernandez Ks 13 in 2-0 win over Oakland

SEATTLE — Felix Hernandez scattered five hits over eight innings and struck out a career-high 13 to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.

David Aardsma took over in the ninth for Hernandez (8-9), who threw 110 pitches. He picked up his 22nd save in 26 opportunities.

The Mariners scored a run in the sixth off starter Brett Anderson (3-3) when Ichiro Suzuki led off with his major league-leading 38th infield hit. He was sacrificed to second. After a groundout and an intentional walk to Franklin Gutierrez, Casey Kotchman singled through the right side to score Suzuki.

Seattle added a run in the eighth off Craig Breslow when Gutierrez lofted an RBI single to shallow left.

It was the sixth shutout for the Mariners and the fifth time the A’s have been shut out.

The lack of scoring is not new to Hernandez this season. In his nine losses, the Mariners have scored a total of nine runs.

Hernandez worked some pitching magic getting out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the first inning. He struck out Jack Cust then induced Kevin Kouzmanoff to hit a two-hop ground ball to second baseman Chone Figgins, who turned it into a routine double play.

At that point, the A’s were hitless in their last 37 chances with runners in scoring position. They would not have another chance.

Hernandez settled in after the first-inning blip. Over a span of 25 batters, he retired 22, 12 on strikeouts. The only hitters to reach were on two singles and a walk.

Anderson also had a brush with first-inning trouble. He walked Jose Lopez with two outs then Gutierrez doubled into the left-field corner. Lopez, who is not fast, was held up at third. Kotchman ended it with a right-side groundout.

Anderson went on to retire 13 of 14 batters, allowing only a two-out single in the fourth. He gave up two hits through five innings but couldn’t get through the sixth unharmed.

NOTES: Daren Brown got a call from his father, Paul Brown, after the Mariners’ 3-1 victory Monday in his first game as manager. His father had played parts of four seasons with the Phillies (1961-63, 1968) and was 0-8 as a pitcher. He told his son he was proud that he was a winner first time out. “That was special to me for him to say that,” Daren Brown said. “He’s a part (of my life). He grew up around the game. It’s real important to me.” … A’s RHP Ben Sheets had more extension surgery Monday on his right elbow than expected. Texas Rangers team surgeon Dr. Keith Meister repaired the flexor tendon, pronator tendon and the ulnar collateral ligament. Sheets had been told that his UCL would not be involved.