Gonzalez, Astros win 8-3, drop Mariners into wild-card tie

SEATTLE (AP) — Marwin Gonzalez hit two of Houston’s four home runs, and the Astros knocked the Seattle Mariners from the lead for the second wild card in the American League with an 8-3 win on Wednesday.

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 Seattle in the AL West and dropped the Mariners into a tie with surging Oakland for the second AL wild-card spot. Oakland beat Toronto on Wednesday to pull even.

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.

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.

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.