Angels beat Mariners 7-4, Felix Hernandez slips to .500 despite AL-best 2.39 ERA

Angels beat Mariners 7-4 behind Hunter’s 4 RBIs

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Hideki Matsui homered and Torii Hunter had four RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-4 victory over Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.

Ervin Santana (16-9) tied a career high for victories, allowing three runs and five hits over 7 1-3 innings and striking out five.

Ichiro Suzuki extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a three-run homer in the eighth that chased Santana. It was his 2,215th major league hit, breaking a tie with Joe DiMaggio for 167th place all-time. It also put the two-time AL batting champ within 15 hits of reaching the 200 mark for 10th consecutive season, which would tie Pete Rose for the longest such streak in history and snap a tie with Ty Cobb for the longest streak in the AL.

Kevin Jepsen gave up a two-out RBI single in the ninth to Josh Wilson before Fernando Rodney closed it out for his ninth save in 14 chances, retiring Suzuki on a line drive to third base with two men on.

Hernandez (11-11) was charged with seven runs — four earned — and three walks in 6 1-3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander, who leads the AL with a 2.39 ERA, struck out five to increase his total to a major league-best 214 — three more than Angels ace Jered Weaver. This was the sixth time in Hernandez’s last 11 starts that his teammates didn’t score while he was in the game.

After beating Cleveland in 16 innings on Wednesday night and edging the Mariners in 14 innings in Friday night’s series opener, the Angels opened the scoring in the second with Howie Kendrick’s two-out RBI single after Erick Aybar grounded into a force play and stole second. The rally began with a 10-pitch leadoff walk to Matsui, whose 62 walks are three shy of his total last season with the Yankees.

Matsui’s next plate appearance lasted only two pitches and resulted in his 19th homer, an opposite-field drive to left-center after Hernandez fell behind in the count.

The Angels increased the margin to 5-0 in the fifth with three unearned runs. The first two batters reached on errors by third baseman Jose Lopez and shortstop Wilson, who mishandled a throw after Hernandez fielded Jeff Mathis’ bunt and tried for the force play on Kendrick. Bobby Abreu drove in a run with a groundout and Hunter added a two-run single, after driving in only one run in his 40 previous career at-bats against Hernandez.

Hernandez has allowed 17 unearned runs this season, the most on the Seattle staff, but has given up just five earned runs in 51 1-3 innings over his last seven starts.

Hunter greeted Jamey Wright with a two-run double after Hernandez departed. But the nine-time Gold Glove outfielder lost Wilson’s line drive to right field in the lights, resulting in a double right before Suzuki’s sixth homer of the season.

NOTES: Angels September callups Hank Conger and Mark Trumbo made their major league debut back-to-back in the seventh inning, striking out as pinch-hitters for Matsui and Mike Napoli. Trumbo stayed in the game at 1B, becoming the 11th player the Halos have used at that position this season. That tied a franchise record set in 1969. … Hernandez was 0-3 with a 4.13 ERA in his five starts against the Angels this season, three of which were against Weaver. Santana was 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA in his five starts against the Mariners. The only other matchup between Santana and Hernandez was on Aug. 13, 2008, when neither got a decision in Seattle’s 12-inning 10-7 win.