Mariners 4, Blue Jays 0
TORONTO - Felix Hernandez pitched eight shutout innings for his fourth win of the season and Canadian Jason Bay extended his hit streak to seven games as the Seattle Mariners blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 at the Rogers Centre.
Hernandez (4-2) struck out seven while allowing five hits. He threw 63 of his 95 pitches for strikes in the win.
After starting the season 1-2 with a 3.05 ERA in his first three outings, Hernandez has turned it around, going 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in his three previous outings entering Friday.
With the win, Seattle (14-17) has won six of its last eight outings. Toronto (10-20) has lost nine of its last 11.
Michael Saunders, a native of Victoria, British Columbia, took Aaron Loup's first offering in the sixth over the right field wall for his third home run of the season, a solo shot giving Seattle a 4-0 lead.
The seven-game hit streak matches Bay's longest streak since April of last season when he was a member of the New York Mets.
Three batters later Jose Bautista gave the 23,779 in attendance something to cheer about as he robbed Jesus Montero of extra bases making a nice grab up against the wall.
After moving Adam Lind to the two hole on Thursday, manager John Gibbons said he was done tinkering with his lineup. But on Friday, Gibbons moved Melky Cabrera from the sixth spot to the second for Friday's series opener.
"We're kind of reverting back to the beginning of the season getting Melky in there," Gibbons said prior to the game. "That's kind of the way we designed it. He's here for a reason. He's always been at the top of the line-up. It's been a battle. Nothing's been easy.
"It's been a struggle. We'll see what happens. He gets a lot of hits."
Cabrera and Lind each finished the night 1 for 3.
Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero made his season debut after being called up from Class A Dunedin, where he made one start while focusing on his mechanics.
Romero worked on pitching with a more direct line to the plate. Blue Jays roving pitching coach Dane Johnson said Romero also changed his delivery so he no longer has his hands above his head in an effort to prevent him from throwing across his body as he did previously.
Romero, 28, started well, striking out three while allowing one hit through the first three innings.
Seattle got to Romero in the fourth, scoring three times.
After a leadoff walk to Saunders, Kyle Seager took Romero deep to right field for his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot giving the Mariners a 2-0 lead.
Romero then hit Kendrys Morales, who advanced to second on a wild pitch. After striking out Mike Morse, Romero walked Bay and Justin Smoak to load the bases. Dustin Ackley gave the Mariners a 3-0 lead when his single to right scored Morse.
Romero went four innings, allowing three earned runs and three hits while striking out four. Romero threw 70 pitches, 38 for strikes.
NOTES: Saunders had three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI in his previous eight visits to Toronto. ... Morse has home runs in three of his last four games entering Friday and came in tied for first in the American League with nine. ... The Mariners sent third-base coach John Stearns back to Triple-A Tacoma and replaced him with Daren Brown. ... After the Blue Jays dropped two of three games to the Boston Red Sox, manager John Gibbons was candid Friday when asked if there's anything the team can carry forward from the previous series. "To be honest with you, no. We lost two out of three." ... Toronto had lost eight of 10 entering the three-game series with Seattle. ... The Blue Jays designated right-handed pitcher Justin Germano for assignment on Friday.
