Recap: Houston vs. Atlanta
Sports Network | September 26, 2008
Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Darin Erstad clubbed a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a three-game set at Minute Maid Park.
Michael Bourn collected three hits and scored a run for the Astros, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention after the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs, 5-1, on Friday. Ty Wigginton added a solo homer.
Houston starter Brian Moehler gave up two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings, Jose Valverde (6-3) got the win despite blowing his seventh save of the season.
Casey Kotchman had a two-run single for the Braves, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Josh Anderson had three hits and scored twice.
Jorge Campillo allowed four runs on seven hits in just three innings of work. Buddy Carlyle tossed three scoreless frames and Jeff Bennett blanked the Astros over two innings. Julian Tavarez (1-4) was saddled with the loss after he served up the home run to Erstad.
Kelly Johnson, who went 0-for-2 to snap his career-best 22-game hitting streak, stroked a sac fly in the eighth off Houston's LaTroy Hawkins to make it a one-run affair.
Valverde came on in the ninth to protect the 4-3 lead and issued a leadoff walk to Omar Infante, who moved to second on a Jeff Francoeur single and scored on Valverde's fielding error.
With one away in the home ninth, Erstad hammered the first pitch he saw from Tavarez over the right-field wall for his third career game-winning homer.
The Astros got on the board in the bottom of the first. Kazuo Matsui had a leadoff double and Bourn laid down a bunt back to the pitcher. The fleet- footed Bourn was credited with a single and Campillo's errant throw to first allowed Matsui to race home. Wigginton's one-out shot to right gave Houston a 2-0 lead in the second, and the Astros added two more runs in the third.
Bourn singled to begin the inning, moved to second on a Miguel Tejada groundout and scampered home on Lance Berkman's sacrifice fly. Geoff Blum and Hunter Pence followed with back-to-back doubles.
The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the fourth on a double by Anderson, a walk to Johnson and a base hit by Brian McCann. Kotchman then cut the deficit in half with a sinking liner to left.
Hawkins had not allowed a run in his previous 22 appearances (19 innings)...The Braves left seven men on base, while Houston stranded six.
