Griffey Jr. smashes homer in win over A's

SEATTLE (AP) - Ken Griffey Jr. started what might be his final homestand with career homer No. 628, and Felix Hernandez added another strong effort to his AL Cy Young Award resume in the Seattle Mariners' 6-4 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.

Griffey has been mostly evasive about his future plans following the end of the season, but the Mariners icon jolted the meager crowd that showed up on a chilly night with a three-run homer off Oakland starter Trevor Cahill in the fifth inning.

Cahill became the 406th different pitcher to give up a long ball to Griffey in his storied career. Cahill (10-13) was just 13 months old when Griffey smacked his first career homer off Eric King on April 10, 1989.

Griffey's homer gave Seattle a 5-1 lead and was more than enough run support for Hernandez, who bolstered the best season of his young career on a night he didn't have his best stuff.

Hernandez (18-5) struggled with his control, walking four and hitting two batters, but lasted 7 2-3 innings and improved to 7-1 since Aug. 1. He gave up seven hits, struck out four and threw a season-high 120 pitches in his next-to-last start of 2009.

Mark Lowe struck out Cliff Pennington to end the eighth after Hernandez loaded the bases with two outs. Seattle closer David Aardsma gave up a two-run single to Kurt Suzuki in the ninth, before getting the final two outs.

Oakland missed its opportunity to capitalize on Hernandez's early struggles, failing to score with runners at first and second and no outs in the second, and with runners on second and third and two outs in the third.

Mark Ellis had an RBI single in the fourth, but the A's left runners at second and third in that inning as well.

Hernandez is among the favorites for the Cy Young in the American League. For wins, he trails only CC Sabathia, who has 19, and his 2.48 ERA is second to Kansas City's Zack Greinke (2.06).

Hernandez will start Sunday in the season finale against Texas.

The 21-year-old Cahill saw his four-game winning streak snapped. He matched Hernandez early but fell apart in the fifth. Josh Wilson started the inning with a double and scored on Franklin Gutierrez's sacrifice fly to deep center field for a 2-1 lead.

Jose Lopez then followed with a single, and after the A's infield met at the mound, Griffey turned on Cahill's first pitch for his 17th homer of the season.

Griffey indicated earlier this month he'd be open to playing in 2010 for Seattle if the situation worked for both sides, but has stayed silent recently.

"We actually went fishing yesterday, and he never brought it up," Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said before Tuesday's game. "That's Junior's decision, that's (GM) Jack (Zduriencik's) decision. All I can speak of is my experience with him this year, and it's been an honor to have a player of that caliber."

The win assures Seattle (81-76) of at least a .500 record a season after losing 101 games. The loss means Oakland will finish last in the AL West for the first time since 1998.

NOTES: Seattle activated 1B Russell Branyan from the 15-day disabled list before Tuesday's game. Branyan has been out since Aug. 29 with a herniated disk in his back. Whether he plays before the end of the season remains in question. ... Seattle SS Jack Wilson saw a doctor on Tuesday night to get another opinion on his bruised right heel. Wakamatsu did not believe Wilson would play again this season.