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HOUSTON -- Robinson Cano continued his dominance against the Houston Astros on Wednesday to keep Seattles playoff hopes alive.Cano hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and the Mariners kept pressure on the other AL wild-card contenders with a 12-4 win over the Astros.Kyle Seager added another three-run drive in the eighth, his 30th home run this season, as Seattle pulled within 1 1/2 games of Baltimore for the second AL wild card. Houston dropped three games back as its magic number for elimination was cut to two. The Orioles were at Toronto on Wednesday night.If you want to help your starter, youve got to start early and also put pressure on the other team, Cano said. Thats what we did today.Canos career-best 36th home run, a drive off Doug Fister (12-13), landed in the first row of the Crawford Boxes in left field. Cano has nine homers and 25 RBI in 19 games against Houston this season.Huge home run early by Robbie really got everybody relaxed a little bit, manager Scott Servais said. Everybody contributed today ... everybody had to contribute and were still alive.Seattle doubled its lead in the second on Nori Aokis RBI single and Seth Smiths two-run single. Ketel Marte made it 7-0 with a run-scoring infield single in the third.James Paxton (6-7) allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, striking out eight.Fister gave up five runs and five hits over 1 1/3 innings in the shortest start of his big league career. Fister has lost five straight decisions, and Houston has lost his last seven starts -- all five innings or fewer.Getting into the game was very difficult for him, Hinch said. His command wasnt great. He didnt execute the way he does when hes good.George Springer hit a solo home run in the third for the Astros, who closed to 7-4 in the sixth on Evan Gattis solo homer.Since the Astros are off Thursday, if the Orioles win their next two games, Houston could be eliminated by the time it takes the field on Friday.Im not ready for that, Hinch said. This is not a position that were happy to be in, but its a position that we are in.FAREWELLSThe game was the final broadcast for the Astros Bill Brown, who is retiring after 30 seasons with the team. It was also the last game for Tals Hill in Minute Maid Park. The Astros will renovate the ballpark this offseason, and the center-field fence will be moved in.SCRIBNER SOLIDServais was impressed with the work of reliever Evan Scribner, who took over with two on and no outs in the sixth inning and got the Mariners out of a jam. He allowed one hit and no runs in two innings for his third hold this season.Hes been awesome probably about the last 10, 11 times out, Servais said. But you have those days where it just didnt look good and it was time to go to Scrib and he certainly picked us up today.UP NEXTMariners: LHP Ariel Miranda (5-2) will start the first of a four-game series Thursday against Oakland. Miranda will be making his 12th appearance and will be looking to rebound after giving up three runs in four innings Saturday at Minnesota.Astros: Brad Peacock (0-0) will start for Houston on Friday when it opens a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. It will be the fifth start this season for Peacock, who has a 2.67 ERA.---AP freelancer Jeremy Rakes contributed to this report. . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. LOS ANGELES -- The Red Sox put catcher Ryan Hanigan on the 15-day disabled list Saturday, retroactive to Friday.Hanigan was hit by a pitch on the left ankle while catching Thursday night against Seattle. He was diagnosed with peroneal tendinitis.The Redd Sox claimed catcher Bryan Holaday off waivers from Texas to fill Hanigans roster spot backing up Sandy Leon.dddddddddddd ' ' '
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