SEATTLE — Raul Ibanez hit a two-run homer and a two-run double in his first two at-bats, and Felix Hernandez pitched with a comfortable lead for a change as the Seattle Mariners handed the Chicago White Sox their eighth straight loss with a 7-4 victory Tuesday.
Seattle scored three times in the first inning and three times in the third to give Hernandez a rare cushion on a night when he wasn’t at his best early. Thanks to the lead, Hernandez (7-4) was eventually able to find a groove, and he ended up pitching into the eighth inning to win his second straight start.
Ibanez hit the first pitch he saw out to right field for his 11th homer and added the double his next at-bat. It was his second game this season with at least four RBI.
The anticipated matchup between former Cy Young Award winners Hernandez and Jake Peavy (6-4) never materialized into a pitching showdown. Hernandez gave up runs in each of the first two innings, while Peavy was knocked around for six earned runs and seven hits in just 2 1/3 innings.