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Mariners get back on track with win over lowly Marlins

Jun 25, 2011 - 6:24 AM Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Felix Hernandez struck out 10 in eight impressive innings, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-1 victory over the Florida Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.

Hernandez (8-6) allowed Florida's run, but gave up only two hits and walked two.

Miguel Olivo hit a two-run homer and drove in three overall for the Mariners, who were coming off a disastrous series in Washington. They were swept after losing all three games by one run.

"In the third inning, he just got everything together," Olivo said of Hernandez. "In the second inning, he hit a couple guys, after the 3rd inning, (he was) a different guy, everything started working, the changeup, the slider, the curve, the sinker, unbelievable. It's a good game."

Ricky Nolasco (4-4) gave up three runs in seven innings to take the loss, the Marlins' 21st this month.

Hanley Ramirez scored Florida's only run in the fourth inning, when he singled, moved to second on a groundout, stole third and crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

"It's probably the best pitcher that I've ever faced, stuff wise, command wise, movement, everything's hard, throws 2-seamers, (he's) not afraid to pitch in," Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez said. "When you're talking about 94-95 with the ball moving as much as his ball does, he's really good."

That was actually enough to put Nolasco in line for the win, as he held Seattle scoreless through six innings. That stretch extended the Mariners' overall scoreless streak to 20 innings.

But Seattle broke through in the seventh.

Nolasco walked Brendan Ryan before Adam Kennedy singled to put runners on the corners. Ryan was caught in a run-down during the next at-bat, but the play left runners in scoring position, prompting an intentional walk to Dustin Ackley.

Olivo followed by grounding into a fielder's choice to plate Kennedy, and Carlos Peguero singled to load the bases. Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run single to center to make it a 3-1 game.

The burst turned the tables. Hernandez hit John Buck to begin the bottom of the seventh, but retired the next six batters. Olivo's homer in the ninth gave Seattle some insurance, and Brandon League recorded the final three outs.

Game Notes

Olivo's blast was his 12th of the season...Hernandez went 1-for-3 at the plate...Because the series was originally scheduled as a home series for the Marlins, they will play as the home team throughout...The teams met for the first time since 2008, when Florida took two of three in Seattle.