Seattle @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 22, 2018 ) Houston 10, Seattle 7

The Houston Astros gained some breathing room in the American League West over the weekend and are surging down the stretch with wins in 12 of the last 14 games. The Seattle Mariners, who visit the Astros for the opener of a three-game series on Monday, drew closer to mathematical elimination over the weekend and are running out of time.

Justin Verlander struck out 11 in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and helped Houston increase its lead in the AL West to 4 1/2 games over the Oakland Athletics with 13 games left in the regular season. "This was a really good series for us to dial it in against a really good team," Astros manager AJ Hinch told reporters. "I know they've scuffled lately, but they've been in the mix the entire year. We needed to play well to win the series, and we did." The Mariners took three of four from the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend but sit 7 1/2 games behind Oakland in the race for the second AL wild card and will play the next six on the road before finishing the season with a seven-game homestand. Seattle sends left-hander Wade LeBlanc to the mound on Monday opposite Astros lefty Framber Valdez.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Wade LeBlanc (8-4, 3.56 ERA) vs. Astros LH Framber Valdez (3-1, 2.66)

LeBlanc had a string of three straight stellar outings come to an end when he was reached for five runs - two earned - on four hits and a walk over five innings to suffer a loss against San Diego on Wednesday. The 34-year-old allowed a total of one run across 19 innings against Arizona, Oakland and Baltimore in his previous three turns. LeBlanc suffered through one of his worst starts against Houston at home on Aug. 1 - surrendering seven runs and 10 hits over 4 1/3 frames - but earned a win at the Astros on Aug. 11.

Valdez endured his first real struggle at the major league level at Detroit on Tuesday, when he was reached for four runs on five hits and four walks over four innings without factoring in the decision. The Dominican rookie yielded a total of three earned runs in his first four appearances - three starts. Valdez made his major league debut in relief at Seattle on August 21 and picked up a win while scattering an unearned run and two hits across 4 1/3 frames.

WALK-OFFS

1. Astros 3B Alex Bregman has reached base safely in 42 straight games.

2. Mariners OF Mitch Haniger recorded multiple hits in each of the last five contests.

3. Houston OF George Springer is 9-for-17 with seven runs scored over the last four games.

PREDICTION: Astros 4, Mariners 3