If the Houston Astros fail to qualify for the postseason, they can point to the Athletics as a prime reason.

Houston has dropped its past six meetings with the Athletics and is just 4-7 overall as the teams continue a three-game series on Wednesday night in West Sacramento, Calif.

The latest painful result was Tuesday's 5-1 setback when the Astros had just three hits.

The defeat was Houston's fourth straight and leaves the club one game behind the Detroit Tigers for the final American League wild-card berth.

The Astros also are four games behind Seattle in the AL West with five games left. The Mariners also hold the tiebreaker after posting a three-game sweep of Houston over the weekend and will clinch the division with either their next win or the next Houston loss.

Houston (84-73) h

See Full Page