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Yankees get to King Felix, top Mariners

Sep 13, 2011 - 6:01 AM Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Mark Teixeira and Chris Dickerson homered off Felix Hernandez in the fourth inning, and Phil Hughes pitched six strong frames, as the New York Yankees turned back the Mariners, 9-3, at Safeco Field.

Robinson Cano stroked a three-run double, as the Yankees widened their lead to four games over Boston in the AL East. The Yankees, who snapped a four-game skid on Sunday in Anaheim, compiled 14 hits, three from Cano.

Hughes (5-5) ended a three-game winless stretch by limiting Seattle to five hits and a run.

"I'd like to be ahead a little more and maybe get some quicker outs so I can go deep in the game, but other than that, you can't argue, especially when we get the kind of run support against Felix," Hughes said. "Coming into this game you never imagine that you're going to get six runs, you're hoping for one or two and then keep them close. That was a nice luxury to have tonight and fortunately caught some breaks there in the middle innings and kept them off the scoreboard."

Hernandez (14-12), who had won his previous three starts, was charged with nine hits and six runs over six innings. He entered the night with a five-game winning streak vs. the Yankees, the longest ever by a Mariners pitcher.

"It looked like he just kept missing out over the plate a little bit," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "His stuff was good, they just started rolling it, one after the other in that fourth inning."

Miguel Olivo clubbed a two-run homer in the opener of this three-game series, but the Mariners fell to 3-9 this month.

Brett Gardner scored on Derek Jeter's groundout in the third, but the Mariners tied it when Ichiro Suzuki lined a single to right-center field to drive in Brendan Ryan.

The Yankees then took command in the fourth against Hernandez, who had a 1.29 ERA over his previous six starts vs. New York. Teixeira homered to right on an 0-1 pitch. Cano doubled and Nick Swisher singled before Eric Chavez lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Gardner then smacked an RBI double to left field before Dickerson clubbed a first offering over the wall in right. Dickerson, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to a September 1 win at Boston, hit his first homer of the year.

The 6-1 cushion was plenty of support for Hughes, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he retired Olivo on a pop-out and got Trayvon Robinson on a fly ball to center.

Cano's double to left in the seventh plated Austin Romine, Jeter and Curtis Granderson.

Olivo homered to left of Scott Proctor in the eighth.

Game Notes

Before the game, the mariners promoted Roger Hansen to special assistant to general manager Jack Zduriencik...Hernandez fell to 6-4 in his career vs. the Yankees...Granderson has a major league-leading 128 runs scored...Romine recorded his first big league hit with a single in the seventh...Hughes is now 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA with 11 strikeouts in four career appearances at Safeco Field...Hernandez had not lost against the Yankees at Safeco Field since August 23, 2006.