SEATTLE -- In the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, Seattle manager Scott Servais liked to joke that his Mariners were about to make the most important acquisition of any team by adding Felix Hernandez to the rotation.

It's starting to look like no joke.

In his seventh start since coming off the disabled list, Hernandez tossed eight quality innings and the Mariners used back-to-back seventh-inning home runs from Mike Zunino and Leonys Martin to pull away and beat Milwaukee 8-2 on Saturday night.

Hernandez (8-4) threw seven shutout innings before the Brewers got to him in the eighth. He allowed two runs and seven hits before former closer Steve Cishek came on in a non-save situation and finished off the win.

"He's rounding into the Felix of norm, no doubt," Servais said. "... He's got some bullets left in his arm. Having been out as long as he was (two months, with a calf injury), he's still fresh."

Offered Hernandez after winning for the fourth time in as many decisions since coming off the DL: "I'm getting better every time out there."

Solo homers from Zunino and Martin to begin the seventh inning opened up a 4-0 Seattle lead before the Brewers (52-70) finally got on the board on Ryan Braun's RBI double in the eighth.

Braun, who drove in a pair of runs with a ninth-inning single Friday, doubled over right fielder Shawn O'Malley to bring Martin Maldonado in from third base while ending Hernandez's shutout bid. Braun came in to score on Hernan Perez's single to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Zunino added a two-run double as Seattle (66-56) scored four more times in the bottom of the eighth to open up an 8-2 lead. Zunino went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.

"It's nice to be in that situation late in the game with some runners on," Zunino said. "They scored a couple there in the eighth, and it's always nice when you answer back."

The Mariners held on for their 12th win in 15 games and moved to within one game of Baltimore in the American League wild-card race.

Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta (5-9) kept the Brewers in the game for six innings before giving up the two homers in the seventh. He allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings while losing to Hernandez for the second time in as many career meetings.

"I thought Wily pitched well," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Those two home runs at the end spoiled it."

Milwaukee third baseman Jonathan Villar went 2-for-4 while recording his 48th stolen base of the season.

Counsell said that Seattle's Hernandez really fell into form after the second inning.

"If he was vulnerable at all, it was in the first couple innings," said Counsell, whose team has now lost six straight and seven in a row on the road. "After that, his off-speed stuff got really good."

Left fielder Norichika Aoki went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs for the Mariners. Seattle shortstop Ketel Marte added a pair of hits.

Aoki had hits in each of his first three at-bats, including an RBI single in the third and an RBI double in the fourth to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

NOTES: Seattle manager Scott Servais announced before Saturday's game that closer Edwin Diaz would get the night off. Servais added that Diaz, who has already made 10 appearances since being named closer Aug. 1 and needed 61 pitches to get through his past two games, might not pitch Sunday either. ... Milwaukee 3B/OF Hernan Perez made his first start at first base this season as every-day 1B Chris Carter served as designated hitter in the American League ballpark. Perez has been swinging a hot bat but has been moving around because of the emergence of 3B Jonathan Villar in the leadoff hole and the Brewers' youth movement in the outfield. ... RHP Felix Hernandez, Seattle's Saturday starter, had faced Milwaukee only one other time in his career. He tossed eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out nine in a 2-0 victory over the Brewers on Aug. 11, 2013. That game also featured Milwaukee starter Wily Peralta, who was on the mound again Saturday. ... Hernandez owns a 22-9 career record and 2.82 ERA in interleague games.