Gio Gonzalez shut down the Seattle Mariners and Rajai Davis paced a 16-hit assault with four base knocks as the Oakland Athletics snapped a long losing skid with an 8-1 victory on Thursday night.

Chris Carter and Cliff Pennington homered for the A’s, who broke a six-game losing streak and now need to win the remaining three at Safeco to reach .500 for the first time since 2004.

Gonzalez (15-9) scattered four hits and five walks over seven innings and struck out eight to improve to 6-2 in his last 11 starts.

Seattle starter Doug Fister (6-14) matched Gonzalez until four consecutive two-out hits in the fifth, including infield hits by Daric Barton and Mark Ellis and a bloop by Jack Cust, that helped Oakland build a 4-0 lead.

Fister departed after 5 1/3 innings, charged with six runs and 13 hits to drop to 3-11 in his last 18 starts since returning from a fatigued shoulder in late June.

Carter hit his second homer of the season in the sixth and Pennington added his sixth in the eighth.

Justin Smoak had two hits for Seattle, which is two losses away from a second 100-loss season in three years and fifth all-time.