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HOUSTON — The Houston Astros salvaged a split of their six-game road trip with a victory at Texas on Wednesday , setting the stage for what could be the most critical stretch of their schedule.

Houston returns to Minute Maid Park on Thursday to host the opener of a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox and an 11-game homestand that will carry the Astros (57-31) into the All-Star break.

Following their team record-tying 12-game winning streak last month, the Astros have gone a pedestrian 8-6. They have been unable to shake the Seattle Mariners (55-32) in the chase for the American League West pennant and remain behind the Boston Red Sox (59-29) and New York Yankees (56-28) in pursuit of the best record in the majors.

The Astros could gain significant ground in the standings with a dominating homestand facing two teams below .500, the White Sox and Detroit Tigers (38-50), sandwiched around a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics, against whom Houston is 8-1 this season.

Houston rallied from a four-run deficit to complete the sweep of its two-game set with the Rangers with a 5-4 win. The bullpen was vital, with right-handers Will Harris, Collin McHugh and Ken Giles combining for five innings of scoreless relief, allowing three hits and zero walks.

“I think our bullpen did exactly what we needed,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Astros have performed inconsistently since their winning streak, with injuries (shortstop Carlos Correa) and slumps (outfielder George Springer and super utility Marwin Gonzalez) yielding uneven play. Rectifying matters at home against inferior competition might cure ills.

Right-hander Justin Verlander (9-4, 2.12 ERA) will open the homestand for the Astros. Verlander has suffered consecutive losses, allowing nine runs on 16 hits and three walks with 14 strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays during the final week of June.

Verlander has surrendered at least three runs in four of five starts after doing so only once over his first 13 starts. He is 21-13 with a 3.74 ERA over 43 career starts against Chicago.

The White Sox will counter with left-hander Carlos Rodon (1-3, 4.55 ERA), who will make his sixth start of the season. Rodon made his season debut on June 9 at Boston and allowed a season-high five runs in his last outing, surrendering six hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings in a 13-4 loss at Texas.

Rodon is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA over four career starts against the Astros.

With their 7-4 loss in Cincinnati to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, the White Sox (30-56) will conclude their stretch of 13 games in 13 days with the four-game series against the Astros. Chicago entered the series finale at Cincinnati with its starters providing the fewest innings in the AL; right-handed starter Dylan Covey continued that trend by working only 3 2/3 innings.

Combine that strenuous bullpen workload with the lack of off-days, and the White Sox will look to Rodon to not only provide a quality start on Thursday but a lengthy one as well.

The Seattle Mariners have made a habit this year of mounting comebacks, winning by one run and prevailing in extra innings.

They combined all three of those traits in a rousing, drama-filled matchup with the Baltimore Orioles.

Denard Span hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 11th inning after Kyle Seager delivered a two-run homer in the ninth , and the Mariners pulled out an 8-7 victory Wednesday night.

Playing without injured Nelson Cruz for a second straight game, Seattle got a home run from Ryon Healy and collected 14 hits while improving its record in extra innings to 7-0.

It was the Mariners’ major league-leading 25th one-run victory, and it marked the 16th comeback win in which they have taken the lead in the seventh inning or later.

In this one, Seattle gave up a deflating three-run homer to Chris Davis in the eighth inning before rallying.

”We’ve had some great wins this year. We’ve done a lot of this at home,” manager Scott Servais said. ”To do this on the road, after giving up the big home run in the eighth inning, it’s how we’re wired. We play all 27 outs, guys don’t quit. They figure out and find a way.”

The Mariners came to town having lost six of seven. Now, after winning three straight over the lowly Orioles, they can complete the first four-game road sweep of Baltimore in franchise history.

Seattle has never swept a two-game series in Baltimore, and its last three-game sweep of the Orioles on the road was in 2007.

Cruz has been bothered by a sore lower back, but the Mariners have done just fine without him.

Jean Segura led off the 11th with a double against Mychal Givens (0-5), and Span drove in the go-ahead run with a deep fly to center off Donnie Hart.

Chasen Bradford (5-0) worked the 10th and Edwin Diaz got three outs for his major league-leading 30th save, a club record before the All-Star break. He has earned the save in each game of this series.

”We have stepped up and started playing great baseball,” Diaz said. ”Our defense, hitting and pitching are all doing great. We’re in a good moment right now.”

The Orioles trailed 5-4 in the eighth inning before Davis interrupted his season-long slump with a shot off Alex Colome. The drive, on a 3-1 pitch, soared onto Eutaw Street far beyond the right-field wall.

Davis entered the game with a .147 batting average, and on Friday returned from an eight-game hiatus in which he worked to get his swing back. This was his second home run since coming back , and it produced a rare feel-good moment for a struggling team and its belabored slugger.

Then, in the Seattle ninth, Mitch Haniger singled off Zach Britton and Seager delivered his 15th home run and second in two nights.

Britton, who has pitched in only eight games this season after returning from surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, said, ”I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I didn’t want it to be like this, but it is what it is and I’ve just got to push through it.”

Much earlier, Seattle made up deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning against Alex Cobb.

Baltimore has lost four in a row overall and 14 of 15 at home.

DO THE HUSTLE

Orioles shortstop Manny Machado heard some boos Tuesday night when he trotted to first base after hitting into a 4-6-3 double play.

Manager Buck Showalter promised the matter would be addressed, and he did so on Wednesday.

”He’s better than that,” Showalter said. ”It’s a really bad presentation, and he knows that. The toughest thing about it is that it’s a poor presentation of what he’s really about.”

ALL-STAR ENDORSEMENT

Machado leads AL shortstops in fan voting for the All-Star Game, but Servais believes Jean Segura is playing well enough to be a backup.

”There are a lot of good shortstops out there, but our guy ranks top five in almost every statistical category,” Servais insisted.

Segura is batting .338 with 44 RBIs. He’s got nine errors but has displayed exceptional range.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: Servais says Cruz ”is moving in the right direction” and could return Thursday.

Orioles: RHP Darren O’Day (hamstring) and OF Craig Gentry (rib fracture) were placed on the 10-day disabled list.

UP NEXT

Mariners: Mike Leake (8-4, 4.11 ERA) gets his 17th start in the series finale.

Orioles: Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Jimmy Yacabonis will make his first major league start Thursday in place of injured Dylan Bundy.

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