SEATTLE – Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, rookie Bryan Woo struck out nine and the Seattle Mariners beat Chicago 3-2 Friday night for their third win in four games.
Four Seattle pitchers combined to walk none and strike out 16, including Luis Robert four times and Jake Burger and Andrew Vaughn three times each. The White Sox have struck out 32 times in their last two games, sliding to their sixth loss in eight games.
Hernández broke a 2-2 tie against Tanner Banks (0-1), driving a fastball 432 feet to center. He also tied the score 1-1 with an RBI double in the fifth and is hitting .364 with three homers and 10 RBIs in June.
“We’ve been taking a lot of good at-bats,” Hernández said. “The better results are not always going to be there, but you have to keep fighting. The guys have been doing that. We’re fighting until we get the opportunity to put some runs on the scoreboard.”
Woo made his first home start after outings at Texas and the Los Angeles Angels. He retired his first nine batters and allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
“He continues to get a little bit better every time out there,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I thought his stuff today was just outstanding. He got into his breaking ball early in the game, and he was rolling, … his two-seam fastball just explodes.”
Gavin Sheets homered in the fifth to put Chicago ahead and Andrew Benintendi chased Woo with a home run in the sixth that put the White Sox ahead 2-1. Benintendi had not homered in 273 plate appearances since last Aug. 30 for the New York Yankees at the Angels.
“I like the fact that we’re hitting homers, now we’ve got to find a way to put up crooked numbers,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “We do that, we’ll be in good shape.”
Ty France hit an RBI single in the bottom half.
Woo allowed three hits, combining with Matt Brash (4-3), Andrés Muñoz and Paul Sewald on a five-hitter. Sewald struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances.
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