BY PAUL GACKLE

OAKLAND — Jon Lester was good. Felix Hernandez was better.

Hernandez continued his dominance of the Oakland A’s on Wednesday as the Seattle Mariners squeaked out a 2-1 win in a pitcher’s duel at the O.co Coliseum.

“It came as advertised,” A’s Manager Bob Melvin said, referring to the matchup between two of the American League’s best pitchers. “Usually with two guys like that it comes down to one swing and, literally, in this case, it was one more than we got.”

The A’s acquired Lester in a deadline trade with the Boston Red Sox to pitch in big games against the league’s top hurlers. He performed the role to near perfection for six innings before Kyle Seager and Corey Hart smacked back-to-back home runs in the top of the seventh.

Lester (13-10) took the mound with a 1-0 lead in the seventh thanks to Adam Dunn’s towering home run to right in the bottom of the fourth, the 462nd big fly of his career, tying him with Jose Canseco for 34th place on baseball’s all-time list.

But after retiring seven of eight batters, Lester surrendered a leadoff home run to Seager in the seventh on a 3-1 pitch.

“They’re down one [run] and he’s looking to do one thing and he did it,” Lester said.

Hart homered to left two pitches later, putting the Mariners ahead 2-1.

Did Lester’s frustration in the wake of Seager’s home run cause him to give up a second long ball?

“I don’t think things like that affect [Lester],” Melvin said. “I think he’s been around long enough to know that it goes pitch to pitch for him — he can’t let the previous pitch affect him.”

Hernandez (14-5), who improved his career record against the A’s to 19-7 with a 2.58 ERA, retired the A’s in order in the seventh and the eighth before Fernando Rodney picked up his 41st save in the ninth.

“If I give up [just] two solo homers — I like my chances in just about any game,” Lester said. “Unfortunately, Felix was on the other side and did one better.”

The Mariners ace surrendered a single run on only three hits over eight innings of work. He’s 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his last nine starts at the O.co Coliseum.

With the win, the Mariners now trail the A’s by only 3 1/2 games in the AL wild card race.

NOTE: The A’s recalled left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz and first baseman Nate Freiman from Class A Beloit on Wednesday.