SEATTLE -- After a lights-out April, May has not been kind to Marco Gonzales.

The Mariners’ No. 1 starter dropped his third straight decision on Friday as the Twins topped Seattle, 7-1, for their fourth straight win.

• Box score

Gonzales opened the year with a 5-0 record and 2.80 ERA in his first seven outings, but he has gone 0-3 with a 5.94 ERA in four starts since after giving up eight hits and six runs (five earned) in five innings vs. the Twins.

“We have a long season to go,” Gonzales said. “I don’t think there’s any panic. We have a lot of baseball to play. I’m not looking at April success vs. May success. I’m looking at the next start and how I can get better at that one.”

The 27-year-old’s struggles have mirrored the Mariners’ overall fall, as they dropped to 22-25, including a 5-14 record since Gonzales won his fifth game of the season on May 25.

At that point, the Mariners were 17-11 and still leading the American League West by a half-game, but they’ve now fallen nine games behind the Astros in the division and are just a half-game ahead of the last-place A’s.

Gonzales mowed down the first seven batters he faced Friday before leaving a pitch up in the zone against third baseman Ehire Adrianza, who drilled it for a 414-foot solo home run. From there, things got rocky, as Gonzales gave up four straight hits to lead off a two-run fourth, then surrendered three more runs -- though only two were earned thanks to a throwing error by left fielder Domingo Santana -- in the fifth.

“I actually thought Marco threw the ball OK,” manager Scott Servais said. “They got some hits the one inning, a couple ground-ball hits, the checked-swing blooper. They did situationally hit, some big hits with guys on base. Marco competes his tail off. He did again tonight. He had the bases-loaded, nobody out in the one inning and kept it right at 3-0, which gave us a chance. But not quite enough tonight.”

A nice double-double for EE

Edwin Encarnacion went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI, but that was about all the Mariners could muster against Twins lefty Martin Perez (6-1, 2.89 ERA).

Encarnacion’s ground-rule double in the first was the 350th of his career. Combined with his 392 home runs, he is just the third active player -- along with Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera -- with 350-plus doubles and 350-plus homers.

“That says a lot,” Servais said. “What says a lot, too, Edwin has had a few games where his timing has been off a little. But he’s out there early today at 2:30, taking extra swings, and it pays off right in the ballgame tonight. He’s a pro. I appreciate his efforts and how he goes about it. And he’s still swinging the bat, too.”

Speaking of doubles

While both the Mariners and Twins have an Austin Adams in their bullpen, it was the Mariners’ version who got the chance to pitch on Friday, and the 28-year-old threw two perfect innings in relief of Gonzales, including striking out the side in the sixth in a four-strikeout night as he displayed a 96-mph fastball and potent slider.

“I feel great,” Adams said. “I’ve been working hard on a few mechanical adjustments. I’m just going out there and taking the opportunity at hand.”

The 28-year-old has always had swing-and-miss stuff and now totals 19 strikeouts in 10 innings over 11 appearances in the past three seasons with the Nats and Mariners. But he also has 14 walks, so finding consistent command remains his challenge.

Throwing 19 strikes in 27 pitches was a good step in that direction.

“Austin Adams was outstanding,” Servais said. “Obviously he’s pretty new to the organization. He’s got a really, really good slider. It’s nice to see how he’s going about attacking.”

Adams was called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Monday, a week after being acquired from the Nationals by trade. The right-hander has now given up one run and one hit in three innings with Seattle, while striking out seven with one walk.

The Twins’ Austin Adams has yet to pitch in the series after being recalled from Triple-A on Thursday for his first shot in the big leagues since 2016.

“I’m sure we’ll do something soon,” Adams said. “We have two more days, so we’ll see what happens. I’d love to get a photo and just talk to him.”