Hernandez (10-10) struck out nine and allowed four hits and one walk as the Mariners snapped a four-game losing streak while ending the Red Sox winning streak at four.
Boston scored an unearned run in the third and trailed 4-1 when Tim Wakefield (3-10) left after 5 2-3 innings. Then J.D. Drew hit a solo homer in the sixth, the first earned run off Hernandez in 27 2-3 innings over four starts. The Red Sox threatened in the eighth with runners at second and third with one out.
Then Brandon League replaced Hernandez and pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings for his fourth save in nine chances.
In the opener, Josh Beckett (4-3) got his first victory in four starts as the Red Sox won 5-3.
Hernandez lowered his ERA from 2.51 to 2.47, second in the AL to Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox at 2.26. He also recorded his 1,000th strikeout, fanning David Ortiz in the sixth, at the age of 24 years, 139 days. Only Bert Blyleven (23 years, 121 days) and Dwight Gooden (23 years, 249 days) did it at a younger age.
Blue Jays 6 Yankees 3: In Toronto, Vernon Wells and Aaron Hill homered and Toronto held on when Curtis Granderson flied out with the bases loaded to end the Blue Jays’ win over the Yankees.
Down 6-2 with two outs and none on in the ninth, the Yankees rallied. Jason Frasor was pulled after a pair of walks and closer Kevin Gregg gave up an RBI single to Eduardo Nunez and hit Derek Jeter with a pitch that loaded the bases.
Gregg retired Granderson on a routine fly just short of the warning track in center field for his 29th save in 33 chances.
Toronto took two of three in the series. The Yankees remained even with Tampa Bay for the AL East lead.
Rangers 4 Twins 3: In Arlington, Texas, Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton homered in support of C.J. Wilson, who won his sixth consecutive decision for the Rangers, in a victory over the Twins in a matchup of division leaders.
Guerrero had three hits, including the tiebreaking homer leading off the sixth against Brian Duensing (7-2) that came after Wilson had already thrown his last pitch.
Wilson (13-5) gave up three runs with six strikeouts and two walks while throwing 103 pitches over six innings. The left-hander is 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA in eight starts since the All-Star break.
Royals 4 Tigers 3, 12 innings: In Detroit, Willie Bloomquist’s one-out home run in the 12th inning gave the Royals a win over the Tigers.
Kansas City, which also got a homer and two RBIs from Kila Ka’aihue, rallied from a 3-0 deficit to snap Detroit’s five-game winning streak and avoided being swept in the three-game series.
Phillip Humber (1-0), who pitched three innings of scoreless relief, got the win for the Royals and Joakim Soria got his 36th save in 38 chances.
Alfredo Figaro (0-1) surrendered Bloomquist’s home run and took the loss.
Angels 12 Rays 3: In Anaheim, California, Mike Napoli hit a grand slam, Hideki Matsui doubled in three runs and Howie Kendrick had four hits to help the Angels defeat Tampa Bay and prevent the Rays from sweeping a series in Anaheim for the first time.
Tampa Bay remained tied with the Yankees atop the AL East standings with identical 78-49 records, best in the majors.
The Angels stopped a three-game slide overall and a four-game skid against the Rays at home. They got outscored 14-6 in losing the first two games of the series and came into the finale 2-for-25 with runners in scoring position.
Athletics 6 Indians 1: In Cleveland, Trevor Cahill pitched seven strong innings and the Athletics beat Cleveland, handing the Indians their fifth straight loss.
Cahill (14-5) was helped by three double plays as he improved to 5-1 with a 0.77 ERA in six starts since July 28.
Kevin Kouzmanoff lined a three-run double to cap Oakland’s five-run first inning off Mitch Talbot (8-11). The former Indians third baseman broke a 4 for 42 slump (.095) with the shot off the center-field wall.
Jack Cust gave the Athletics a 1-0 lead with an RBI single grounded between first and second. After Mark Ellis walked to load the bases, Rajai Davis grounded a single between third and short to make it 2-0.
Orioles 4 White Sox 2: In Chicago, Brian Matusz pitched seven impressive innings and Brian Roberts homered as the Orioles beat the White Sox.
Matt Wieters doubled and drove in two runs for the Orioles.
Mark Buehrle (12-10) was wilder than usual, and the White Sox lost for the 11th time in 16 games. Their lone run off Matusz came on a solo homer by Gordon Beckham in the sixth. With two outs in the Chicago ninth, Paul Konerko singled and Carlos Quentin tripled. Koji Uehara rebounded by striking out A.J. Pierzynski for his second save of the season.
