time under Kelly that the Irish lost when not com

HOUSTON -- Their winning streak at Minute Maid Park stalled by two left-handed starters, the Houston Astros will encounter a third in succession when the Seattle Mariners visit Monday to open a key three-game series.The Astros (43-39) dropped consecutive home games for the first time since late May when White Sox lefties Chris Sale and Jose Quintana posted back-to-back wins on Saturday and Sunday. Houston fell to 9-15 against left-handed starters this season, with Mariners southpaw Wade Miley (6-4, 5.58 ERA) scheduled to start against the Astros next.Houston had won five consecutive series before dropping the rubber match on Sunday and had claimed 13 of 15 games at home before being bested by Sale in the middle game of the three-game set with Chicago.Weve got to continue to play our game, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Thats five series before that we won. We lost this series; its unfortunate. We were in position to win yesterdays game; we were close today until they pulled away. So youve got to give credit to what they did.So for us we get a new series, a division opponent that we havent seen in a few weeks, but theyre right there with us. Itll be important for us to create those innings that weve done so well the last two months. Good opponent coming to our stadium (Monday) for a three-game series. One were really familiar with.Astros right-hander Lance McCullers (3-2, 3.91) will make his first starts against the Mariners this season. He went 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in three starts against Seattle as a rookie in 2015.McCullers missed his previous turn in the rotation because of a blister on his right index finger, but Hinch acknowledged that the club took a measured, cautious approach with McCullers when they skipped him last week in Anaheim.Miley is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in five career starts against the Astros. In a 6-3 Mariners win on May 5 at Minute Maid Park, he allowed two runs, five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six quality innings. He will make his second start since his recall from the 15-day disabled list on June 29 with a sore left shoulder.The Mariners (43-39) completed a four-game series sweep of the Orioles at home on Sunday with a 9-4 win. After losing six consecutive games between June 18-23 to drop behind the Astros in the American League West standings, Seattle has won seven of nine games to pull even with Houston for second place in the division, 8 1/2 games behind Texas.We didnt talk at all about wins and losses. It was just about how we were playing, Mariners manager Scott Servais said of a recent address to the team. We werent playing well and we needed to play better. Sometimes you think the wins and losses are in your control -- things happen in this game, you play so many games.But you can control how you play and how you prepare and thats what we wanted to see.Seattle leads the season series 4-3, but the teams havent played since May 8. Cheap Air Max Shoes With Free Shipping . 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In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Even though Virginia Tech in the midst of a conference championship race, Notre Dame with its losing record has more at stake when they face the Hokies for the first time.The Fighting Irish (4-6) need to win their final two games to become bowl eligible and avoid becoming just the 14th team in 128 years of Notre Dame football to post a losing record. For Virginia Tech (7-3), the game has no bearing on its bid to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division.Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer said avoiding the stigma of a losing season is a motivating factor in the final two games against the Hokies and USC.Six and six is a big feat to get to rather than being 5-7. We want to be a team who continues on a winning tradition at Notre Dame, he said.Coach Brian Kelly believes Notre Dames 44-6 victory over Army last week was its most complete game this season. He wants to see the Irish build on that.I want to make sure that how we play is going to be reflective of where we finish and how we build that for next year, he said.The Hokies are coming off a disappointing 30-20 loss to Georgia Tech, so now must beat rival Virginia to clinch the division title. Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said the focus this week is on continuing to improve.This is an ongoing process and its not always a straight ascension. This is a great opportunity and comes at a good time for us to go on the road and play a very talented team in what Im sure will be a hostile environment, he said.Other things to know about the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game:NOT AN OPTIONThe defenses for both teams are happy to be returning to playing against more traditional offenses after facing triple option opponents. The Hokies played Georgia Tech, while the Irish faced Navy and Army in cconsecutive weeks.dddddddddddd Its like a monkey off your back, Notre Dame linebacker Nyles Morgan said. Its back to basics.BALL SECURITYIt has been an issue in all of the Hokies losses. Jerod Evans threw two interceptions in last weeks loss to Georgia Tech, doubling his total for the season, and also fumbled. He still ranks fifth among all Power Five conference quarterbacks in efficiency, and the Hokies are tough to beat when they take care of the ball. Notre Dames loss to Navy two weeks ago marked just the second time under Kelly that the Irish lost when not committing a turnover.NO STREAKSIf Notre Dame fails to win Saturday it would mark the first season without consecutive victories since 1960. The Hokies are trying to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since losing to Miami and to Duke in four overtimes in October 2015.DEFENSIVE SETBACKVirginia Tech allowed the Yellow Jackets to rush for 309 yards last week, but they have been stronger against the run in other games, allowing 144 yards on average. Thats 40th nationally. They rank 14th against the pass, allowing 185 passing yards per game.POOR RATINGSThe Army-Notre Dame game last week was the lowest-rated game in 26 seasons of NBC broadcasting Fighting Irish football games. The game averaged 1.52 million viewers. The previous low was against Air Force on Oct. 8, 2011, in a broadcast that averaged 1.59 million viewers. Notre Dame is averaging 2.89 million viewers this season, down 9 percent from last year.---AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '