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SEATTLE -- Dallas Keuchel has always had a bit of an issue with Seattle: The Houston Astros' left-hander has always found it difficult to work up a sweat with the dry climate of the Pacific Northwest. But the Astros needn't have sweated on Monday with their resident ace on the mound.
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Keuchel went 7 2/3 solid innings, and Alex Bregman's two-run double ignited a four-run rally in the seventh inning as the Astros defeated the Mariners 6-2 at Safeco Field.
Josh Reddick added a two-run single in the decisive outburst as the Astros broke open a tie game.
The win pushed Houston closer to the American League West title, holding its lead over the Los Angeles Angels to 13 1/2 games and cutting its magic number to 12.
"I'm not going to lie; I think about it every day," Keuchel said of the divisional race. "The Angels are playing well. They've got a couple new additions to their lineup, so they're scoring a bunch of runs and we know that. But as long as we take care business, at some point we'll be celebrating."
The four-run lead was more than enough for Keuchel, who looked increasingly through the innings like his former Cy Young Award self after coming back from a nagging neck injury.
Seattle (69-69) saw a three-game winning streak snapped, and the loss kept the Mariners' 2 1/2 games back in the chase for the AL wild card with the Minnesota Twins' loss on Monday night.
Keuchel (12-3) allowed seven hits and two runs. He struck five and walked two. His 108 pitches were the most he had thrown in an outing since coming off the disabled list on July 28.
And he did it in his own style, inducing ground ball after ground ball, including double plays in the seventh and eighth innings.
"You've got to give credit to Keuchel," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "He was really good today -- 13-14 outs on the ground. Double-play balls certainly squashed a couple rallies we got going."
Seattle lefty reliever Mark Rzepczynski (2-1) immediately got into trouble after starting the seventh in a 2-2 game. He surrendered a leadoff single to Marwin Gonzalez, then fired a wild pitch that pushed the runner to second. His wildness continued with a walk to Brian McCann.
Rzepczynski was replaced by Nick Vincent, and Cameron Maybin sacrificed the runners to second and third. After an intentional walk to George Springer, Bregman doubled to right, scoring two.
With Keuchel on the mound, Reddick's two-run single later in the inning pushed the game out of reach.
"If you want to choose Bregman over Springer, Bregman's been pretty good with runners in scoring position," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's been very, very good the last couple of months."
The Mariners' Kyle Seager had tied the game 2-2 in the sixth with a solo blast to center, his 20th of the season.
Seattle right-hander Erasmo Ramirez did his best to upstage Keuchel early with a strong six-inning start. Ramirez allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He also surrendered solo home runs to Yuri Gurriel and McCann, both in the fifth inning.
"I thought Ramirez threw really well," Servais said. "He made a couple of mistakes on the home run balls, but he gave us what we were looking for today."
Seattle opened the scoring in the first on a two-out RBI single by Seager, coming after a leadoff single by Jean Segura and a two-out single by Nelson Cruz.
NOTES: Houston RHP Mike Fiers was informed Monday he would be removed from the rotation after he went 1-4 with a 7.66 ERA in six starts in August. Manager A.J. Hinch said Fiers would be available to pitch out of the bullpen, likely starting Friday in Oakland. ... Astros C Max Stassi was activated from the 10-day disabled list after recovering from left hand inflammation. ... Astros RHP Michael Feliz (shoulder) and C Evan Gattis (left hand) began rehab assignments with Class A Quad Cities. ... Seattle RHP David Phelps (right elbow impingement) was shifted from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL, ending his season. ... Mariners OF Jarrod Dyson (right groin strain) was given the day off. ... The Mariners claimed OF Jacob Hannemann and RHP Seth Frankoff on waivers from the Chicago Cubs. LHP Zac Curtis was designated for assignment. ... Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez had a bullpen session Monday as he recuperates from a shoulder injury. LHP James Paxton (pec) is scheduled for a bullpen session on Tuesday.
