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. Air Max 270 Sale . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Cheap Air Max 720 Mens . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. http://www.airmax720wholesale.com/air-max-720-womens.html . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Wholesale Air Max 720 . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Air Max 720 Sale ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. On Thursday night, the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs will play the most important game of the 2016 NFL season so far.Its rare that a game this early in December has such strong implications for who wins the Super Bowl. On Oct. 16, the Chiefs went to Oakland and beat the Raiders 26-10. Another win on Thursday night would give Kansas City a sweep and a tiebreaker advantage over Oakland. Thats particularly important because the Chiefs have a schedule advantage in the final three games. Both teams go to San Diego, but the Chiefs also get the Titans and Broncos at home, while the Raiders get the Colts at home and the Broncos on the road.On the other hand, a Raiders win would give Oakland a two-game lead over Kansas City. Even with the easier of the two remaining schedules, thats almost insurmountable.So in simulations in which the Raiders win on Thursday, they go on to win the AFC West 88 percent of the time. In simulations in which the Chiefs win, they go on to win the AFC West 68 percent of the time. The division title, which comes with home-field advantage and a likely first-round bye, makes for a dramatic difference in the odds of representing the AFC in Super Bowl LI. Oaklands odds of making the Super Bowl are twice as good with a Thursday win (32.8 percent) compared to a Thursday loss (16.4 percent). Kansas Citys odds are more than twice as good: 22.dddddddddddd.6 percent with a win, 9.3 percent with a loss.Youll find our playoff odds for all 32 teams below. For a full explanation on how we calculate each teams playoff odds, see the bottom of the article.AFC PLAYOFF PREDICTIONSFAVORITES1. Oakland Raiders (10-2)Odds of making playoffs: 99.3 percentPaging Travis Kelce: Oakland ranks third in DVOA against short passes?(up to 15 yards through the air) on the left side of the field and 11th against short passes on the right side, but 28th against short passes in the middle of the field.2. New England Patriots (10-2)Odds of making playoffs: 99.2 percentThe Patriots rise to No. 1 in our ratings this week, but their playoff odds fall slightly behind Oaklands because the Ravens look like a much more dangerous opponent for this Sunday now. More important than playoff odds right now are the odds of getting the No. 1 seed, which will change substantially depending on the results of the Thursday night game. A Chiefs win would give the Patriots a one-game lead over both Kansas City and Oakland. The Patriots get the No. 1 seed in 67 percent of simulations where the Chiefs win Thursday, but only 33 percent of the simulations where the Raiders win Thursday. ' ' '