Mariners over Astros- The Mariners (84-72) dropped 1 1/2 games behind Houston (86-71) in the chase for the American League's third and final wild-card playoff berth with a 5-1 loss to the visiting Astros on Monday night. Seattle, which will play host to Houston again on Tuesday, has two games left against the Astros before concluding the regular season with a four-game home series against the AL West-leading Texas Rangers (88-68). The Mariners have lost four games in a row overall, and they lost the past 10 games they played against teams with winning records. The Tuesday game is scheduled to feature a matchup of right-handers, Houston's Cristian Javier (9-4, 4.64 ERA) and Seattle's George Kirby (11-10, 3.58). Javier is 0-2 with a 5.25 ERA over his past five starts. Javier is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in eight career appearances (five starts) against the Mariners. Kirby earned his first victory since Aug. 5 with a 6-3 decision on Wednesday at Oakland. He gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. Kirby is 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in two career starts against the Astros. He beat them 5-1 on July 6 in Houston with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Take SEATTLE!