CHICAGO -- A day of losses concluded with a win for the Seattle Mariners on Friday, when they beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Paced by a dominant performance from right-hander Taijuan Walker, the Mariners evened the series at a game apiece despite struggling to convert scoring opportunities into runs for the second straight night.

"He shut them down," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said of Walker. "They got him a little bit (last week) in Seattle, but he bounced back very nicely and did a tremendous job."

Walker threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out six for the win but also left his start prematurely because of a cramping issue in his right hip flexor. After the game, Walker and McClendon said there is no concern about a lingering injury.

"I just kind of cramped up," Walker said. "It gave out on me. I fell and I got back in (the locker room) and I was good. "It was just tight -- when it cramps, it just gets tight for a couple seconds and then after that, it's good."

Walker wasn't the only one to leave earlier than expected.

Earlier in the day, the Mariners announced that general manager Jack Zduriencik had been fired and catcher Mike Zunino was sent to the minors. It was a lot for players and the coaching staff to handle, but they managed to win for the fourth time in their past six games.

Third baseman Kyle Seager (3-for-4) and left fielder Franklin Gutierrez (3-for-3) each hit homers to lead the offense, and right-hander Carson Smith and closer Tom Wilhelmsen threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to preserve the win. Wilhelmsen pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Left-hander John Danks (6-12) started and took the loss for the White Sox (60-67), who were shut out for the ninth time this season and second time this week.

"You start looking at (Danks) and (him) going through that lineup ... but we didn't muster any offense," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "You have to be able to put something on the board. If they score two, you have to be able to score three."

Seattle (60-69) took the game's first lead in the sixth on the homers by Seager and Gutierrez. The blasts rewarded Walker for his dominant outing.

The Mariners' talented right-hander cruised through his first six innings with little trouble by mixing up his offerings and throwing 56 of his 84 pitches for strikes. A two-out double by Chicago left fielder Melky Cabrera in the first was the lone extra-base hit Walker allowed, and he retired the next 11 hitters he faced.

"I felt good," Walker said. "We went with a lot of fastballs today and we were really locating everything."

Walker left the game with the cramp with one out in the seventh and a runner on first. He threw a 3-1 pitch to Adam LaRoche that was called a ball and felt immediate discomfort in his upper right leg.

Walker dropped to a seated position on the mound, was examined by the Mariners' athletic trainer and removed. The hip-flexor cramp was announced in the eighth.

Reliever Carson Smith promptly got into a bases-loaded jam after issuing a walk that was charged to Walker followed by an infield hit off a line drive that drilled Smith in his right side. He remained in the game and escaped by getting pinch-hitter J.B. Shuck to ground into an inning-ending double play to strand Seager at third.

"It's a tough feeling," Shuck said. "Obviously, you want to get it done every time, but the goal is to get a pitch and try to do whatever you can to put the barrel on it. I thought I put a good pass at it."

The Mariners also left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh in a game they wasted multiple scoring opportunities.

NOTES: The Mariners fired GM Jack Zduriencik on Friday morning and named assistant GM Jeff Kingston the interim GM for the remainder of the season. Mariners president Kevin Mather didn't put a timetable on finding a new GM, but hopes to have it done quickly. ... Seattle optioned C Mike Zunino to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled C John Hicks to take his roster spot. Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said the move is intended to let Zunino try to break out of his funk at the plate in the minors. Zunino was hitting just .174 through 350 at-bats this season. ... White Sox manager Robin Ventura again fielded questions about why he sat rookie OF Trayce Thompson the day after Thompson had a good offensive performance. Thompson went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Chicago's 4-2 win Thursday, but Ventura is sticking to his plan to play him primarily against left-handed pitchers.