SEATTLE -- The Houston Astros playoff momentum was halted Sunday by a pitcher they had never faced -- and likely will have to face again.Ariel Miranda (5-1), a Cuban defector acquired by the Seattle Mariners in a July 31 trade with Baltimore, held the Astros to just three hits and two runs over his seven innings in Seattles 7-3 victory.Seth Smith powered up a pair of home runs and had four RBI in support as the Mariners moved ahead of the Astros in the congested wild-card race.Houston (78-71) is a half game behind both the Mariners (79-70) and Detroit in the race for the wild card spots.He (Miranda) has a good fastball and a good split finger-change thing that he throws, Astros manager A. J. Hinch said. Our guys hadnt seen a ton of him...he did a good job challenging us, just above the zone and we swung under today and hit a lot of pop-ups in the infield, a few balls to the outfield. A couple balls to the track that could have changed the game a little bit. He kept enticing us with fastballs.That enticement will continue in the final week of the season. The Mariners play another three-game set with he Astros in Houston, Sept. 26-28, and Miranda likely is on schedule to start that series final game.Mirandas seven innings was his longest outing in 10 starts with Seattle. He walked one and struck out eight.Heck of an outing, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Hes on a heck of a roll. We certainly needed it. Hes gained so much confidence. You can certainly can see it.Miranda has won all four of his starts in September. He said, through an interpreter, its been a dream of mine (to be in a playoff chase) but never been there. Its really great to get there. Im happy with the work Ive been doing and happy to help the team.Smith had a solo shot in the third and a three-run blast in the fourth, both on 3-1 pitches from Doug Fister (12-12), who went just 3 2/3 innings.I was just trying to attack with my sinker; he put a couple good swings on balls -- clearly, Fister said. I just didnt execute today, thats what it comes down to. Balls down, balls up, all over the place. I let my team down.Smith had been 0-for-10 in his career against Fister but the eight-year veteran had a plan.Guys know what theyre doing when they are pitching and able to pitch to the corners, Smith said. You try to take the close ones, try to get into a good hitters count when they come after you.Youre constantly learning, how to approach at-bats, knowing what kind of swing you have going into a game, knowing what the pitcher is trying to do to you, Smith said. Over the course of a career you kind of fit the pieces a little better together.RECORD WHIFFSWith Jandel Gustaves strikeout of Shawn OMalley in the sixth, the Astros staff established a club record for strikeouts with 1,283. Theyve done it without even a 200-strikeout pitcher. For the most part we have a few guys who can spin their breaking balls when they need to, manager A.J. Hinch said. and the changeup is a big component of our pitching staff.SLOW START; FAST FINISHNori Aoki, who was sent to the minors twice this season to work on his offense, has found his batting eye this month. Entering the game, he was hitting .387 in September, fifth best in the American League. He had been hitting .255 overall to start the month. For his career, he is a .324 hitting in September, fourth best among active players. He had two hits Sunday.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: 1B Adam Lind had not played since Sept. 12 with a sprained finger in his right hand but was back in the lineup Sunday, missing five games.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Brad Peacock (0-0, 2.70) will make his third start, seventh appearance, in his effort to win his first game since 2014. Last time ou, Sept. 13, he was solid, going six innings and allowing just three hits and one run in a 3-2 loss to Texas. Now the Astros are counting on him to step up at the most critical stage of the season. He is 1-4 with a 4.97 ERA in nine career appearances against Oakland.Mariners: RHP Taijuan Walker (6-10, 4.28) is coming off his best starting effort of his career (59 starts). He allowed just three hits and no runs -- first career shutout -- in an 8-0 win over the L.A. Angels. He had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings. He is 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays but has not faced them this season. Cheap Nike Football Jerseys . 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The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city.Rory McIlroy says all his hard work off the course is now starting to pay off on the course after he opened up a three-shot lead following the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The Northern Irishman, using his new crosshanded putting method, carded a flawless four-under 68 to move to 12-under 204 ahead of Sundays final round.However, he will need to maintain his solid form at Doral as he has some big names on his tail with Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott leading the chasing pack on nine under and Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Danny Willett two shots further back. Im pretty sure thats my first bogey-free round of the year. To do it in a round like this is very pleasing, said McIlroy after signing his card on Saturday. Rory McIlroy runs us through his third round at the WGC-Cadillac Championship Ive been saying all week that Ive been making the birdies and Ive been hitting the good shots. Ive just been making too many mistakes. So to play the last 36 holes on a golf course like this with just one bogey on the card is really what I wanted to achieve this week. I feel really good about my game.My ball-striking, my driving, that really hasnt been an issue this year. Thats been where I wanted it to be. But my scrambling and my putting have needed work. Highlights from Saturdays third round at Doral, with McIlroy taking a three-shot lead over Dustin Johnson I feel like the practice that Ive put in over the last few weeks is really starting to pay off.dddddddddddd Just look at some of the saves I had out there today and some of the big par putts - those were the things that were missing over the past three or four tournaments.And to be able to correct that and go out and play in a final group on a Saturday in a golf tournament like this on a golf course like this, and play bogey-free, it gives me a lot of confidence going forward. McIlroy strides towards the 18th green at Doral Theres not many positives from a missed cut [at the Honda Classic] but I made nine birdies over the first two days on a tough golf course in tough conditions. I knew the good stuff was in there. It was just about trying to eradicate the bad stuff, the loose shots, the mental errors, the mistakes.I didnt feel like there was much of a disappointment after last week. To be honest, to miss a cut and be able to sleep in your own bed, its not too bad. Gave me a couple extra days to practice, and maybe if I didnt have those couple of extra days, I wouldnt have found something in my game that I really liked to go forward with. Theres always a silver lining.Watch the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Coverage begins on Sunday from 5pm. Also See: McIlroy goes three clear Leaderboard WATCH: Day drains a monster Schedule ' ' '