MLB: Seattle 1, Tampa Bay 0

SEATTLE, April 23 (UPI) -- Felix Hernandez combined with two relievers on a four-hitter Thursday and Ichiro Suzuki's homer brought the Seattle Mariners a 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay.

The defending American League champion Rays have dropped seven of their last nine games.

Hernandez (3-0) allowed all four Tampa Bay hits and struck out seven over seven innings. David Aardsma struck out two of the three men he faced in the eighth and Brandon Morrow worked around a one-out walk in the ninth to pick up his fifth save.

Suzuki led off the first inning with a homer to right on a 1-0 count against James Shields (2-2).

Tampa Bay was unable to capitalize on any of Seattle's three errors.

Two of those came on the same play in the second inning, allowing the Rays to put runners on second and third with one away. Hernandez then struck out Dioner Navarro and got Akinori Iwamura to fly out to left, ending the threat.