Major League Baseball
Oakland 2, Seattle 0
When: 4:05 PM ET, Saturday, July 4, 2015
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
Temperature: 68°
Umpires: Home - Mike Winters, 1B - Mike Muchlinski, 2B - Marty Foster, 3B - Mark Wegner
Attendance: 18915

It looked like more of the same when Felix Hernandez stranded five Oakland Athletics on base in the first two innings.

However, rookie Kendall Graveman outpitched Hernandez, an Oakland nemesis, and left fielder Ben Zobrist drove in both runs in the A's 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif.

"It feels good," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said after the A's beat Hernandez for the first time in 14 starts at home dating to Sept. 19, 2008.

"He's just handed it to us here at home. It's not like he pitched poorly today. He didn't have his best stuff and he wiggled out of a bunch of jams."

Graveman (6-4) blanked the Mariners for seven innings, allowing five hits and a walk and striking out one. He is 5-2 with a 1.78 ERA since May 23.

Second baseman Robinson Cano and right fielder Nelson Cruz singled against Graveman to start the seventh, but he retired the last three batters he faced -- one on his own nifty grab at first base after a grounder to first baseman Ike Davis wide of the bag.

Melvin visited Graveman on the mound during the seventh but left the rookie in the game.

"He's never really gave me the option to stay out there (before)," said Graveman, who extended his scoreless streak to 16 innings. "Every time he's come out, it's been 'Hey, good job, we have someone else coming in.'

"With Felix on the other side, you know you can't give up many runs with the stuff that he possesses, so I knew I had to bear down there and keep our team in the lead."

Seattle first baseman Logan Morrison said, "We hit the ball better than the scoreboard shows. It's frustrating for sure. He wasn't overpowering, but he did a good job of mixing it up and hitting his spots."

Seattle brought the tying run to the plate in each of the last two innings, but Drew Pomeranz blanked Seattle on one hit in the eighth and Tyler Clippard picked up his 15th save of the season despite issuing a walk in the ninth.

The Athletics scored against Hernandez (10-5) in the first inning when center fielder Billy Burns singled, stole second and scored on a single by Zobrist.

Burns singled again to start the seventh, went to third on a single by catcher Stephen Vogt and scored on Zobrist's sacrifice fly.

"It was tough today," said Hernandez, who took his third loss in 21 start in Oakland. "Sometimes they are patient and sometimes they are aggressive. Today they found the holes. That's the way it goes."

Hernandez, who came into the game 20-7 with a 2.63 ERA in 37 career starts against the Athletics, including 10-2 with a 2.73 ERA in Oakland, allowed 10 hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking two.

NOTES: The A's had a chance to add to their lead against RHP Felix Hernandez in the seventh inning, but catcher Stephen Vogt was thrown out an home on an attempted double steal. ... Vogt, CF Billy Burns and 3B Brett Lawrie each had two hits against Hernandez. ... OF James Jones, RHP Mayckol Guaipe and LHP Davis Rollins were called up by the Mariners from Triple-A Tacoma before the game. LHP Roenis Elias, who took the loss on Friday, was sent down along with LHP Vidal Nuno and RHP Tom Wilhelmsen. ... Oakland RHP Sonny Gray threw off a mound for the first time since being hospitalized because of salmonella and could start Tuesday's road opener against the New York Yankees.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Seattle   Oakland
Felix Hernandez Player Kendall Graveman
Loss W/L Win
7.0 IP 7.0
6 Strikeouts 1
10 Hits 5
2.57 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Seattle   Oakland
Robinson Cano Player Brett Lawrie
1 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
1 TB 2
.333 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Seattle 6 0 7 .194 13 3 0 2 0 0
Oakland 10 0 11 .323 23 7 2 2 1 0