On Wednesday, the Mariners were knocked from the lead for the second

SEATTLE (AP) When the Seattle Mariners were rolling in the middle of June Robinson Cano Jersey , it appeared unlikely anyone in their own division would be contending with them for one of the wild card spots in the American League.wild-card in the AL, caught by division rival Oakland.Marwin Gonzalez hit two of Houston’s four home runs, and the Astros beat the Mariners 8-3, dropping Seattle into a tie with the Athletics in the wild-card race. Seattle led the A’s by 11 games in the middle of June, but has seen the entire lead disappear over the past six weeks.”I’m not worried really about anybody else right now. We need to get back to playing like we’re capable of playing. It just hasn’t happened here recently,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. ”We’ll have a good game here or there. But like I said, start putting together some streaks together, just quality game after game, good pitching, more importantly on offense, we’ve got to do more offensively.”The Mariners were 21 games over .500 at 46-25 after a 1-0 win on June 16, while Oakland was just below .500 at 35-36. Seattle hasn’t played terribly in the following six weeks, but its 17-20 record is pedestrian compared to Oakland’s 29-10 mark and why the A’s have caught up so quickly.”We have to get back to playing really good baseball and then we’ll worry about the other guys,” Servais said.Both the Mariners and A’s are still looking up at Houston in the AL West. After a five-game losing streak, the Astros rebounded to win the final two games of the series. Houston has a five-game cushion over both teams.Gonzalez hit a solo home run off Wade LeBlanc (6-2) with two outs in the second inning and added a two-run shot in the fourth. Jake Marisnick, recalled from the minors before the game, added a two-run shot off LeBlanc and Max Stassi greeted reliever Nick Vincent with a three-run homer in the fifth to break the game open.Gonzalez had the third multihomer game of his career after not hitting a longball since June 27 against Toronto.”When you look at our team when we’re at our best, it is guys like Marwin and (Josh) Reddick. Stassi hit a big home run today. Jake comes up from the minor leagues and immediately produces,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. ”This is a very deep team, and when you go through some stretches that you don’t play your best Felix Hernandez Jersey , you can kind of forget that this team is built pretty well.”LeBlanc’s outing was his worst of the season as he was unable to locate his off-speed pitches down in the strike zone. The seven earned runs were the second-most allowed in his career as a starter and the three homers matched a career high. LeBlanc lost for the second time in his past four starts after winning his first five decisions of the season.Dallas Keuchel (9-9) improved to 6-1 in his past nine starts, throwing seven innings, allowing three runs and striking out two. He retired 11 straight at one point and 11 of the 21 outs he recorded came via the groundball.The bottom of Seattle’s lineup pieced together four consecutive hits in the second, capped by RBI singles from Andrew Romine and Zach Vincej. But Seattle’s offense continued to lag and was otherwise limited to Nelson Cruz’s solo home run in the sixth, his 26th of the season.”For us to get a series win here was big, but it’s not make or break,” Keuchel said. ”We know we’re good enough to win this division. It’s just a matter of getting guys healthy.”ROSTER SHUFFLEAstros: Houston optioned OF Kyle Tucker to Triple-A Fresno to clear a roster spot for Marisnick. Marisnick was optioned to Fresno on July 13.Mariners: Seattle optioned OF Ben Gamel and RHP Chasen Bradford to clear roster spots for the addition of Cameron Maybin and new reliever Adam Warren. Manager Scott Servais said while Gamel has been a better hitter, the decision was to keep Guillermo Heredia as the Mariners’ fourth outfielder because he provides more versatility. Servais said to expect more of a platoon in left field in the coming weeks between Heredia and Denard Span to take advantage of left-right matchups on the mound.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: OF George Springer was out of the lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game with a sore shoulder. He’s listed as day-to-day.Mariners: 1B Ryon Healy was scratched because of lower back tightness shortly before first pitch. … 3B Kyle Seager is expected to return from paternity leave and rejoin the club on Thursday.UP NEXTAstros: After an off day, the Astros will open a three-game series in Los Angeles in a World Series rematch with the Dodgers. Justin Verlander (10-6) will start the opener.Mariners: Felix Hernandez (8-9) makes perhaps his most important start of the year in the opener of a four-game series with Toronto. Hernandez lasted just 2 2/3 innings and was rocked for seven runs in his last start against the Angels, prompting questions about whether he would stay in the rotation. If he has another bad outing, watch for a possible change. Tim Warner/Getty ImagesThe New York Yankees are interested in improving their pitching this offseason and reportedly have eyes for players likeCorey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and James Paxton in potential trades and free agent options like Patrick Corbin, J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred.Kluber is the marquee name on that list, and his inclusion isn't a surpris PN's Buster Olney reported last week that Cleveland would consider moving him in a trade:Buster Olney Buster_ESPNFaced with market constraints, the Indians will listen to trade offers for some of their veteran players this winter, according to sources. Kluber, Carrasco, Encarnacion, Gomes, etc. Lindor Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey , Ramirez will definitely be held.Kluber is one of three AL CY Young finalists after finishing 20-7 with an impressive 2.89 ERA, 0.99 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 215 innings. At 32, there are questions about how much longer Kluber will remain an elite, top-of-the-rotation ace, though he's been downright dominant for the past five seasons.He's also under contract for a reasonable $15 million in 2019, with club options for $15.5 million in 2020 and $16 million in 2021, according toSpotrac.com. For a pitcher of his stature, that's a fairly team-friendly deal, though he does have salary escalators up to $4 million in those seasons, a consideration for Cleveland as it attempts to shed some payroll.Carrasco, 31, would be a strong consolation prize for the Yankees, fresh off another excellent season that saw him finish 17-10 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 231 strikeouts in 192 innings. Carrasco has continued to miss bats at an impressive rate the past two years, even if he isn't quite on the overall level of Kluber.Paxton, 29, is coming off a career year for the Seattle Mariners, finishing 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and career highs in strikeouts (208) and innings (160.1). He'll also almost assuredly be available on the trade market, given that recent rumors have suggested the Mariners will consider trading just about anybody on their roster:Jeff Passan JeffPassanSources: The Mariners are considering a full-fledged teardown this winter. If trade market is strong, the illing to move just about anyone. And if that happens Ken Griffey Jersey , they have indicated the willing to wait a few years to build a competitive team again.Jon Heyman JonHeymanSounds now like Mariners intend to hold onto Haniger, Diaz and Gonzalez. Word is: the free-agent options listed, Corbin is the most intriguing. The 29-year-old is also coming off a career year, going 11-7 while setting career bests in ERA (3.15), WHIP (1.05) and strikeouts (246) in 200 innings. He'll be a popular option for teams looking to improve their rotation this winter.The Yankees will be among them. While the Yankees had one of baseball's most fearsome lineups in 2018, finishing second in the American League with 851 runs, the team's starting pitching was not on the same level"Our starting pitchers, except for [Masahiro] Tanaka, they were not good," Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner said, perBryan Hochof MLB.com, referring to the rotation's performance in the postseason. "All of a sudden, your hitters are down three, four, five, six runs in inning three or four, and it really puts the pressure on them and changes the dynamics somewhat of the whole process. Their pitchers get emboldened, so that just makes it makes it more difficult."In other words, expect the Yankees to aggressivelypursue upgrades to join Tanaka and Luis Severino.