SEATTLE -- Felix Hernandez wore an extra ice pack. Kevin Durant Team USA Jersey . Theyre usually only wrapped around his shoulder, not his calf as well. Despite getting a little physically beat up, Hernandez had no problem shutting down Houston. Seattles ace struck out nine over eight strong innings for his third straight victory, Willie Bloomquist provided a jolt of offence with his first home run since 2011 and the Mariners beat the Astros 6-1 on Friday night. "A little bruise. Im fine," Hernandez said. "He got me, he got me pretty good." An extra bruise on Hernandezs left calf was the only downside to Seattles fourth win in five games that has the Mariners back above the .500 mark. Hernandez (6-1) allowed only five hits and continued a strong last two weeks on the mound. After going more than a month between victories, Hernandez has rediscovered his form. He has struck out 21 and walked just two over his last three starts. Four of his nine strikeouts against the Astros were looking, a sign that he had command off his fastball. "Everything was working," Hernandez said. "I was throwing a lot of strikes. The game plan was just to throw strikes and use a lot of fastballs." Bloomquist drove in three runs, but the highlight was his two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole in the sixth. It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2011, when Bloomquist was playing for Arizona, a span of 626 at-bats. Bloomquists homer came on the first pitch after Mike Zunino had doubled off the top of the wall, missing a homer by inches. Bloomquist rounded the bases with a wry smile on his face and appeared to be catching plenty of grief in the dugout for the long lapse between homers. His last homer also came against Houston -- when the Astros were still a National League team -- and led off the bottom of the first inning. "Dont even go there," Bloomquist laughed when asked about his last homer. "I dont want to remember, lets put it that way. Had a lot of ground-rule doubles in the meantime. I know its been a while. Thats not my swing, but Ill take them when they come if they ever come." Kyle Seager also drove in three runs with a two-run single in the first and a broken-bat blooper in the seventh. Robinson Cano also had two hits, raising his batting average to .326. The only batter to cause Hernandez fits was Jose Altuve, who improved to 8-for-16 all-time against Seattles ace. Altuve had an RBI single in the third, doubled in the fifth and lined a single off Hernandezs calf in the eighth. Hernandez stayed in and started an inning-ending double play from Dexter Fowler for his final batter. It was the second straight start Hernandez pitched eight innings. "Felix was pretty darn good tonight in a lot of different ways," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Certainly with his pitch count he was very efficient and he fielded the ball with his glove and his leg." Houstons Rudy Owens made his major league debut after getting called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City on short notice. The Astros decided to skip Brad Peacocks scheduled start after he experienced soreness in his forearm. Owens struggled through the first inning then settled down. He kept Houston within 3-1 heading into the sixth despite allowing a baserunner in every inning. The game got away from Owens (0-1) in just a couple of pitches. After giving up the double to Zunino, Owens watched Bloomquist hit the first pitch out. Owens was optioned back to Oklahoma City after the game. "We just couldnt muster anything offensively against Felix and that pretty much was the difference in the ballgame," Houston manager Bo Porter said. NOTES: Mariners RHP Taijuan Walker (shoulder) threw a three-inning simulated game Friday and said he feels ready to go out on a rehab assignment. Walker has not pitched in a game this season. ... Houston OF George Springer was held out of the lineup for second straight day after injuring his hip on Wednesday. ... James Jones extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an infield single in the fourth. Larry Bird Team USA Jersey . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Harrison Barnes Team USA Jersey .Fiji striker Roy Krishna scored in the 14th minute to give Wellington its fourth win, along with a draw, from its past five matches, putting the Phoenix fourth but only a point behind third-placed Adelaide.TORONTO -- Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott challenged his leadership group following an embarrassing 4-3 loss Saturday afternoon to the Rochester Americans. The Marlies responded Sunday, as Sam Carrick led the way with two goals in a 3-2 win over the Utica Comets that clinched Torontos third straight North Division title. "I think if its necessary, we can take the criticism, we can live with that," said alternate captain Korbinian Holzer. "I think thats part of the business. Im fine with it. Were all grown ups." Kenny Ryan had the other goal for the Marlies (42-22-6). Rookie defenceman Eric Knodel picked up his first two AHL points. Garret Sparks made 23 saves for his 10th win of the season, helping ensure the Marlies will finish no lower than the third seed in the Western Conference. Toronto became just the sixth team in history to clinch a division title in three consecutive years. "Im very proud of our whole staff," Spott said. "All of my support staff, the coaches, obviously Piero (Greco) our goaltending coach, our trainers, our equipment people. Everybodys worked so hard. "Not a lot of people gave our hockey club much of an opportunity to make to even make the playoffs, nonetheless win the division. Very proud of our group." With goaltender Joe Cannata pulled for an extra attacker, Cal OReilly got Utica to within one with 43.5 seconds remaining. But Toronto held on for the win this time. On Saturday, Toronto allowed two goals in a 15 second span during the final minute of play to fall to the Rochester Americans 4-3. Pascall Pelletier had the other goal for Utica (31-30-9) while Cannata made 33 saves in the loss. The win helped Toronto avoid losing its third straight for just the second time this season. The Marlies improve to 3--2-0 in the season series with one game remaining between the two clubs. Magic Johnson Team USA Jersey. "We know when we dont have our best game," said Holzer. "Its about us pulling the group together, keeping everybody accountable and I think the whole team did a good job today. We responded to the last two (losses) especially defensively, we did a better job." With Comets forward Alexandre Grenier in the box serving a double-minor for high sticking, Carrick scored on the rebound off a Knodel point shot for his 10th goal of the season, giving Toronto a 3-1 lead at 7:40 of the third. The Marlies scored twice on their first three shots of the game. Carrick opened the scoring at 3:06 getting a couple of chances at his own rebound before beating Cannata for his ninth of the season. With his assist on the goal, Knodel picked up his first career AHL point. Ryan made it 2-0 backhanding a shot over the shoulder of Cannata at 4:49. The Comets got on the board at 16:59 of the second period, on a power play, as Pelletier put a Brandon DeFazio feed past a sprawling Sparks for his 18th of the season. Utica is five points back of Rochester for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Toronto sets out on their final road trip of the season -- a five-game, eight-day trip beginning Friday in Rochester, N.Y. The Marlies and Comets play for a sixth and final time this season on April 18 in Utica, N.Y. Notes: Goaltender Drew MacIntyre, who was with the Maple Leafs on emergency recall, was reassigned to the Marlies Sunday morning. MacIntyre was a healthy scratch as Christopher Gibson backed-up Sparks. Marlies forward Fabrice Herzog made his professional debut on a line with Carter Ashton and Greg McKegg while defenceman Zach Yuen made his AHL debut paired with T.J. Brennan. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '