ve games. Four of those losses have come by one score, undersco

SEATTLE -- Seth Smith powered Seattle past Houston and put the Mariners closer in the wild card chase.He hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs on Sunday to help the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 7-3. His effort backed up a strong performance by lefty Ariel Miranda as the Mariners remained in the thick of the congested wild-card race.The Mariners (79-70) are one game behind Toronto, which holds the second wild-card spot.Smith had a solo shot in the third and a three-run shot in the fourth, both on 3-1 pitches from Doug Fister (12-12). Smith had been 0-for-10 in his career against Fister but the eight-year veteran had a plan.Guys know what theyre doing when they are pitching and able to pitch to the corners, Smith said. You try to take the close ones, try to get into a good hitters count when they come after you.Smith, who now has 16 home runs on the season -- one short of his career high -- was patient enough to work both into hitters counts then connected on fastballs into the right-field seats.Youre constantly learning, how to approach at-bats, knowing what kind of swing you have going into a game, knowing what the pitcher is trying to do to you, Smith said. Over the course of a career you kind of fit the pieces a little better together.Fister said, I was just trying to attack with my sinker; he put a couple good swings on balls -- clearly.I just didnt execute today, thats what it comes down to. Balls down, balls up, all over the place. I let my team down.Miranda (5-1), acquired in a trade with Baltimore on July 31 for lefty Wade Miley, went seven innings -- his longest outing in 10 starts with Seattle -- allowing two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out eight.Heck of an outing, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Hes on a heck of a roll. We certainly needed it. Hes gained so much confidence. You can certainly can see it.Miranda has won all four of his starts in September. The Cuban defector said, through an interpreter, its been a dream of mine (to be in a playoff chase) but never been there. Its really great to get there. Im happy with the work Ive been doing and happy to help the team.Houston manager A.J. Hinch said Miranda has a good fastball and a good split-change thing that he throws. Our guys hadnt seen a ton of him. ..He did a good job challenging us, but just above the zone and we swung under today and hit a lot of pop-ups in the infield, a few balls to the outfield. A couple balls to the track that could have changed the game a little bit. He kept enticing us with fastballs.The Mariners have won nine of their last 11 games.RECORD WHIFFSWith Jandel Gustaves strikeout of Shawn OMalley in the sixth, the Astros staff established a club record for strikeouts with 1,283. Theyve done it without even a 200-strikeout pitcher. For the most part we have a few guys who can spin their breaking balls when they need to, manager A.J. Hinch said. and the changeup is a big component of our pitching staff.SLOW START; FAST FINISHNori Aoki, who was sent to the minors twice this season to work on his offense, has found his batting eye this month. Entering the game, he was hitting .387 in September, fifth best in the American League. He had been hitting .255 overall to start the month. For his career, he is a .324 hitting in September, fourth best among active players. He had two hits Sunday.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: 1B Adam Lind had not played since Sept. 12 with a sprained finger in his right hand but was back in the lineup Sunday, missing five games.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Brad Peacock (0-0, 2.70) will make his third start, seventh appearance, in his effort to win his first game since 2014. Last time ou, Sept. 13, he was solid, going six innings and allowing just three hits and one run in a 3-2 loss to Texas. Now the Astros are counting on him to step up at the most critical stage of the season. He is 1-4 with a 4.97 ERA in nine career appearances against Oakland.Mariners: RHP Taijuan Walker (6-10, 4.28) is coming off his best starting effort of his career (59 starts). He allowed just three hits and no runs -- first career shutout -- in an 8-0 win over the L.A. Angels. He had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings. He is 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays but has not faced them this season. Darius Slay Jr Womens Jersey . 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HOUSTON -- Despite notching a win that to an extent salvaged their postseason hopes, the Houston Texans havent yet found themselves in position to rest on their laurels.Should the Texans (7-6) defeat the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11) on Sunday at NRG Stadium, theyll inch one step closer to clinching the AFC South title. Houston would improve to 5-0 in the division with games against the Bengals and Titans remaining, with that finale in Tennessee and the division title likely up for grabs.By beating the Colts in Indianapolis for only the second time in franchise history, the Texans remained in a first-place tie with Tennessee. And while Jacksonville doesnt present a serious threat to disrupting their momentum, the Texans will enter the matchup hamstrung in the passing game, already an offensive weakness.With receivers Jaelen Strong and Braxton Miller on injured reserve, the Texans also have tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz in concussion protocol. Fiedorowicz is second on the team in receptions (48) and receiving touchdowns (two), and third in receiving yards (505). He is a huge loss for a passing attack ranked 30th in the NFL.C.J. is a big part of what weve been doing, obviously, Texans coach Bill OBrien said. Hes had a good year. Hes a guy that does both things well. He blocks well and obviously hes had a good year in the passing game. Id put him in the day-to-day category. Hes played a lot snaps for us this year. Hes pretty banged up but I know hes going to do everything he can to try to play on Sunday. I know that.As far as the passing game goes, I think its a unit that steps up week in and week out. I know it hasnt been the numbers that maybe everybody looks at but I think theres been some consistency in some of the certain routes that we run and things like that. I think our guys understand the game plan. They understand how we want to attack Jacksonville.OBrien might have been hopeful, but it didnt happen as Fiedorowicz was declared out on Friday.Given their roster attrition, the Texans must lean on their prior postseason experience to navigate the final three weeks of the season. There are veterans sprinkled throughout the roster, eeven some who aided playoff runs elsewhere.ddddddddddddThe Texans have pointed to marginally improved play from quarterback Brock Osweiler, who in turn believes his experience in Denver last season is beneficial.I was very fortunate in my time in Denver to be a part of playoff teams, be a part of teams that were fighting for playoff positions in the month of December, Osweiler said. Then, obviously, last year I was fortunate to be able to contribute actually on the field. Just like I always talk about in here, theres nothing that replaces game reps.Well, theres nothing that replaces experience of being able to experience the playoffs. So, just being around that team, I think it helps me out big-picture-wise of what to expect this month, how to prepare and how to go about things.The Jaguars have no such expectations. After following a pair of one-possession losses in September with back-to-back victories over the Colts and Bears in October, Jacksonville has dropped eight consecutive games. Four of those losses have come by one score, underscoring how frustrating this season has been for the Jaguars.I think it definitely took us by shock, Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson said of the skid. I think offensively its not something that we thought at all. Unfortunately, it is the position that we are in, but at the end of the day, we are still trying to build some light up and trying to get some momentum heading into next season.That resolution leaves the Jaguars playing the role of spoiler yet again, especially given their closing schedule. After visiting the Texans this weekend, the Jaguars will host the Titans before closing on the road in Indianapolis. With the Colts just one game behind Houston and Tennessee, the Jaguars will have a say in the AFC South.Well, anytime its an AFC South opponent, I think every team in our division is looking at that saying, We all want to own the AFC South, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley said. When you have three opponents like we do the next three games, its a great opportunity. ' ' '