The Mariners (84-72) dropped 1 1/2 games behind Houston (86-71) in the chase for the American League's third and final wild-card playoff berth with a 5-1 loss to the visiting Astros on Monday night.
The Mariners have lost four games in a row overall, and they lost the past 10 games they played against teams with winning records.
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker went deep for the Astros, who snapped Mariners ace Luis Castillo's streak of eight consecutive victories.
Javier went seven innings and allowed three runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in the Astros' 6-4 victory.
Kirby is 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in two career starts against the Astros.
Persons:
Scott Servais, J.P, Crawford, We've, Justin Verlander, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Luis Castillo's, Houston's Cristian Javier, Seattle's George Kirby, Javier, didn't, Kirby
Organizations:
Seattle Mariners, The Mariners, Houston, Astros, AL West, Texas Rangers, Mariners, Seattle, Kansas City Royals, Texas, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland, Thomson
Locations:
Seattle, Houston