loss another setback for a team that has struggled under the

HOUSTON -- Dallas Keuchel isnt quite ready to say hes on a roll.However last years AL Cy Young Award winner will acknowledge that hes starting to feel more like himself than he did during his struggles early this season.Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer and Colby Rasmus and rookie A.J. Reed added two-run shots in the fourth inning to back up a solid start by Keuchel and give the Houston Astros a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.It was definitely a good first start after the halfway mark and I know its a long season so there was no panic, there was nothing to be mad at except me making some bad pitches, Keuchel said. Id rather finish well than start well so its getting there.Keuchel (6-9) allowed five hits and two runs in six innings for his season-high third straight win after dropping eight of his previous nine decisions.The finish on his pitches was good, manager A.J. Hinch said. He was throwing his breaking ball where he wanted to. He got some big strikeouts. When you see him with the combination of getting the ball on the ground and also missing some bats that is pretty vintage Dallas Keuchel.Will Harris, who was named to his first All-Star team on Tuesday, pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.The Astros trailed by one in the fourth inning when Rasmus launched his homer off Taijuan Walker (4-7) to the bullpen in right-center field to make it 3-2. Valbuena drew a walk before, with two outs and two strikes, Reed hit his second career homer to left-center to extend it to 5-2.Walker yielded five hits and five runs before leaving after four innings with discomfort in his right foot. Its his third start that has been shortened because of this problem. He left early on June 14 and June 19 because of his foot.After the second inning, I had no legs. Everything was up, Walker said. Everything was running back to the plate. I just couldnt drive it in there. Its frustrating because I dont know what I can do to make it better yet.Nelson Cruz homered for the Mariners, who dropped their second straight to Houston.The three home runs Walker allowed tied a career-high and all were by left-handers. Hes been plagued by homers by lefties this season and 13 of the 18 homers he has allowed have been to them.Dae-Ho Lee singled with one out in the second before a double by Kyle Seager. The Mariners took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout by Chris Iannetta.Valbuenas homer, which landed in the second deck in right field, came with two outs in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 1-all.Cruzs 22nd home run gave Seattle a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.He was shaken up in the sixth inning when he fouled a ball off his left foot and leg. He limped around the plate for a couple of minutes while talking to Mariners manager Scott Servais and a trainer before staying in the game to finish his at-bat.HOT IN HEREThe air conditioning in Minute Maid Park was off for about three innings on Tuesday night because of a power outage outside of the building. It had been off for a bit when the teams official Twitter account announced the problem at about 9 p.m. with the temperature outside the ballpark a balmy 86 degrees. Many people could be seen fanning themselves with their hands or pieces of paper as the temperature in the domed ballpark began to rise. Another tweet came in the eighth inning saying the problem was fixed and the air conditioning was back on.Oh yeah, it was hot. But I didnt mind it, Rasmus said. I needed to get a good sweat in anyway.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: RHP Felix Hernandez will throw a simulated game Wednesday. Servais said Hernandez will throw 45 pitches. Hernandez has been on the DL with a strained right calf since June 1.UP NEXTMariners: Wade LeBlanc (1-0, 1.50) will make his third start of the season on Wednesday. LeBlanc allowed three hits and two runs in six innings of a 5-2 win over Baltimore in his last start.Astros: Mike Fiers (6-3, 4.12) is scheduled to start for Houston on Wednesday. Fiers has won three straight and has pitched 14 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings at home. Carl Banks Jersey . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Carl Banks Giants Jersey . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Eli-Manning-Jersey/ . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Dexter Lawrence Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Deandre Baker Giants Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. North Melbourne have continued their rollercoaster ride on the injury front, the Roos welcoming back a key trio the same day Mason Wood was ruled out for up to two months.Jarrad Waite, Daniel Wells and Nick Dal Santo have all been passed fit to return this week, while Wood has undergone knee surgery.The emerging forward injured his left knee in the Kangaroos loss to West Coast and coach Brad Scott confirmed on Thursday he would miss six to eight weeks.They repaired the medial ligament, and also tidied up some other things in the knee, Scott said.Were expecting about a six-to-eight week recovery, which will put him pretty close to the bye before the finals, so its going to be a tight run back.But our attitude as a club is to do everything we can to try to get him back, potentially for a finals series. Well just have to rehab it as best we can.Wood has emerged as an important part of the Roos forward set-up, with his loss another setback for a team that has struggled under the weight of a lengthy injury list of late.North have been in free fall recently, losing fiive of six games to go from top of the ladder after 12 rounds to eighth heading into round 17.ddddddddddddThe Roos face an improving Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with the Power, their nearest challenger three games behind in ninth.Its important and to be perfectly honest were not burying our head in the sand, Scott said of the key encounter.We understand the situation with the state of the ladder and the tightness of the competition. But really our main focus is just on rediscovering our best footy.Weve been thereabouts in terms of a lot of things weve been trying to do but they havent been polished performances and they havent been good enough to get us the win.So were just really focused on getting back to our best and the rest will take care of itself.Scott dismissed calls for out-of-form forward Drew Petrie to be dropped as irrelevant, adding he had not for one second considered sending the veteran back to the VFL. ' ' '