ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are streaking in opposite directions.
 

Brian McCann hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning and the Braves beat the reeling Mets 7-3 on Thursday night for their first seven-game winning streak since 2006.

"Everything's going good right now," manager Bobby Cox said.
 
McCann also had a sacrifice fly in his fifth game of the season with at least four RBIs, helping the Braves move 10 games over .500 for the first time since May 16, 2007. Atlanta (78-68) is 4 1/2 games behind NL wild card-leading Colorado.
 
"This is the best we've played since I've been here," McCann said. "It feels great because we could have folded. That could have been it. I think we're playing with a carefree attitude. There's nothing to lose. At the end [of the regular season], we hope it will be enough. We'll see."
 
The Braves, who moved past Florida for second in the NL East, host division-leading Philadelphia for a weekend series beginning Friday night. Atlanta still trails the Phillies by 7 1/2 games, leaving the wild-card race as its best hope for a return to the postseason.
 
"This is definitely going to be big for us," said Jair Jurrjens, who pitched seven strong innings against the Mets. "We just need to keep winning, winning series, keep winning every game we can right now."
 
New York (63-84) has lost five straight and nine of 10 to fall 21 games under .500 for the first time since Oct. 2, 2004, when it was 70-91.
 
"Has it been that long?" said Daniel Murphy, who had three hits, including a homer. "I didn't know. ... Losing is frustrating, whenever it happens."
 
The injury-riddled Mets have 20 fewer wins than at the same point of the 2008 season, when they were 83-64 and in first place in the NL East.
 
"The difference is you have to go back to the health issue," manager Jerry Manuel said. "If you don't have players in place, you can't do anything consistently. The guys are putting forth good effort. You can't question the effort. We've just fallen short."
 
Jurrjens (12-10) allowed two runs, one earned, and six hits, lowering his ERA to 2.75.
 
"Right now I think we're just having fun," Jurrjens said. "We're not worried about the standings anymore. We just go out there and play good ball."
 
McCann gave the Braves a 5-2 lead with a two-out drive to right for his 19th homer.
Nate McLouth and Martin Prado had one-out singles before Nelson Figueroa struck out Garret Anderson, bringing McCann to the plate.
 
Atlanta had six hits in its four-run fifth, including a run-scoring single by Matt Diaz.
The start of the game was delayed 2 hours, 3 minutes by rain.
 
Prado also had a two-run double in the third for Atlanta, which finished with 13 hits.
 
Murphy hit an eighth-inning homer off Eric O'Flaherty. Fernando Tatis had a two-run single in the fourth.
 
Figueroa (2-6) gave up six runs and nine hits in five innings.
 
"It's very difficult," Figueroa said of New York's skid. "You don't want to go out this way. It's one thing to be out of it and another thing to continue to lose."
 
Diaz was hit by a pitch in the second and is tied for second in the National League with 13 total, including nine times since Aug. 17 -- a span of exactly one month. He has been hit four times in the last three games.
 
The Braves' last seven-game winning streak came in July 2006, wrapped around the All-Star break. They had not been 10 games over .500 since they were 25-15 on May 16, 2007.
 
Game notes
Cox said he hopes RHP Derek Lowe, who left Wednesday night's game after two innings with a blister on his right ring finger, can make his next start. ... LHP Mike Gonzalez, who had a stiff back Wednesday night, was not available on Thursday night.

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are streaking in opposite directions.
 

Brian McCann hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning and the Braves beat the reeling Mets 7-3 on Thursday night for their first seven-game winning streak since 2006.

"Everything's going good right now," manager Bobby Cox said.
 
McCann also had a sacrifice fly in his fifth game of the season with at least four RBIs, helping the Braves move 10 games over .500 for the first time since May 16, 2007. Atlanta (78-68) is 4 1/2 games behind NL wild card-leading Colorado.
 
"This is the best we've played since I've been here," McCann said. "It feels great because we could have folded. That could have been it. I think we're playing with a carefree attitude. There's nothing to lose. At the end [of the regular season], we hope it will be enough. We'll see."
 
The Braves, who moved past Florida for second in the NL East, host division-leading Philadelphia for a weekend series beginning Friday night. Atlanta still trails the Phillies by 7 1/2 games, leaving the wild-card race as its best hope for a return to the postseason.
 
"This is definitely going to be big for us," said Jair Jurrjens, who pitched seven strong innings against the Mets. "We just need to keep winning, winning series, keep winning every game we can right now."
 
New York (63-84) has lost five straight and nine of 10 to fall 21 games under .500 for the first time since Oct. 2, 2004, when it was 70-91.
 
"Has it been that long?" said Daniel Murphy, who had three hits, including a homer. "I didn't know. ... Losing is frustrating, whenever it happens."
 
The injury-riddled Mets have 20 fewer wins than at the same point of the 2008 season, when they were 83-64 and in first place in the NL East.
 
"The difference is you have to go back to the health issue," manager Jerry Manuel said. "If you don't have players in place, you can't do anything consistently. The guys are putting forth good effort. You can't question the effort. We've just fallen short."
 
Jurrjens (12-10) allowed two runs, one earned, and six hits, lowering his ERA to 2.75.
 
"Right now I think we're just having fun," Jurrjens said. "We're not worried about the standings anymore. We just go out there and play good ball."
 
McCann gave the Braves a 5-2 lead with a two-out drive to right for his 19th homer.
Nate McLouth and Martin Prado had one-out singles before Nelson Figueroa struck out Garret Anderson, bringing McCann to the plate.
 
Atlanta had six hits in its four-run fifth, including a run-scoring single by Matt Diaz.
The start of the game was delayed 2 hours, 3 minutes by rain.
 
Prado also had a two-run double in the third for Atlanta, which finished with 13 hits.
 
Murphy hit an eighth-inning homer off Eric O'Flaherty. Fernando Tatis had a two-run single in the fourth.
 
Figueroa (2-6) gave up six runs and nine hits in five innings.
 
"It's very difficult," Figueroa said of New York's skid. "You don't want to go out this way. It's one thing to be out of it and another thing to continue to lose."
 
Diaz was hit by a pitch in the second and is tied for second in the National League with 13 total, including nine times since Aug. 17 -- a span of exactly one month. He has been hit four times in the last three games.
 
The Braves' last seven-game winning streak came in July 2006, wrapped around the All-Star break. They had not been 10 games over .500 since they were 25-15 on May 16, 2007.
 
Game notes
Cox said he hopes RHP Derek Lowe, who left Wednesday night's game after two innings with a blister on his right ring finger, can make his next start. ... LHP Mike Gonzalez, who had a stiff back Wednesday night, was not available on Thursday night.

ATLANTA -- Daniel Murphy's "pretty awful day" helped give the Atlanta Braves a ninth-inning comeback victory and more reason to believe in their playoff chances.
 

The Braves took advantage of Murphy's error to score two runs in the ninth inning off Francisco Rodriguez and beat the New York Mets 6-5 on Wednesday night for their season-best sixth straight win.

With the game tied and runners on first and second with two outs, former Mets outfielder Ryan Church hit a grounder to first base. The in-between hopper hit off a charging Murphy, who then failed to catch the deflected ball as David Ross scored the winning run from second base.
 
"I've got to make that play," Murphy said. "I make it 100 times. I booted it and tonight we lost the ballgame.
"
Rodriguez (3-5) gave up only one hit in the ninth but couldn't hold a 5-4 lead. It was his sixth blown save in 37 chances and another demoralizing loss for the Mets this season.
 
The Braves remained five games behind the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild-card race.
 
Omir Santos gave New York a 5-4 lead with his first career pinch-hit homer in the eighth off Mike Gonzalez, who recorded only one out before leaving with a stiff back.
Eric O'Flaherty (2-1) pitched the ninth for the win in a game that was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 56 minutes.
 
After recording the last out in the eighth, Rodriguez gave up a leadoff double down the right-field line to Garret Anderson in the ninth. Rodriguez then hit Brian McCann with a pitch.
 
Pinch-runners Reid Gorecki and Ross advanced on Yunel Escobar's sacrifice bunt. Adam LaRoche, who had two homers in the Braves' 6-0 win on Tuesday night, was issued an intentional walk to load the bases. Gorecki easily scored the tying run on Omar Infante's fly ball to center field.
 
Then came Church's grounder. The spinning grounder may have looked routine to everyone but Church.
 
"It had a lot of topspin on it going to the bag," Church said. "It just seemed like something would happen. As soon as I saw it running up his leg and his arm, it was in the air. David was running regardless."
 
Church said after he saw the error, his only thought was "go for the bag, hope for the best."
 
Said Braves manager Bobby Cox: "We didn't draw it up that way but we'll take it. Oh, man!"
 
New York has found improbable ways to lose all year: Murphy, who switched to first base after Carlos Delgado was injured, dropped a fly ball in left field, Church missed third base while rounding the bag and Luis Castillo flubbed Alex Rodriguez's ninth-inning popup at Yankee Stadium.
 
Wednesday night's loss was another painful blow to the Mets' lost season.
 
"It's tough anytime we lose a ballgame, especially when you feel personally responsible," Murphy said. "Pretty awful day on my part."
 
The Mets had 16 hits and stranded 14 baserunners.
 
Braves right-hander Derek Lowe gave up three runs in two innings before leaving the game with a blister on his right ring finger.
 
Lowe made his shortest start of the season, giving up five hits and three runs, two earned, with two walks and two strikeouts.
 
Lowe appeared to be bothered by his hand from the start of the game. He looked at his hand on his walk from the mound to the dugout after the first inning before giving up three runs in the second.
 
Jeff Francoeur, acquired by the Mets for Church on July 10, had three hits, including a single off Lowe to lead off the second.
 
Castillo's two-out walk loaded the bases and set up Josh Thole's two-run single. David Wright drove in Castillo with a single for a 3-0 lead.
 
Infante doubled off Bobby Parnell in the second and scored on Church's single.
 
The Braves added two runs in the third on McCann's double and Infante's single, tying the game at 3.
 
Nate McLouth scored on a passed ball by Thole in the fourth to put the Braves up 4-3, but the Mets tied it in the fifth on Reed's RBI single.
 
Parnell gave up seven hits and four runs, three earned, in 3 1/3 innings.
 
Game notes
Fans who endured the long rain delay were invited to move to seats closer to the field after the first inning, leaving the lower level closer to half-full. ... Braves 3B Chipper Jones missed his third straight start with a strained oblique and lower back pain. He struck out in the eighth as a pinch-hitter.

ATLANTA -- Thanks to Adam LaRoche, rookie Tommy Hanson didn't have to worry about his 10th win slipping away again.

Hanson cruised through another start, pitching seven innings, and LaRoche homered twice and drove in three runs to lead the Atlanta Braves to their fifth straight win, 6-0 over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.

Nate McLouth had three RBIs, but this was largely a two-man effort.
 
Hanson (10-3) has allowed just one run in his last 20 innings to reach double-figure wins in a brilliant debut season. He could have had No. 10 in his last start, pitching eight scoreless inning at Houston, only to have Rafael Soriano blow it in the ninth of a 2-1 loss.
 
"It was nice to get a few runs early," said Hanson, who allowed three hits, walked three and struck out eight. "The last few outings, everything has felt good."
 
The winning streak has likely come a little late for the Braves, who remained 7 1/2 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East. They started the day trailing wild-card leader Colorado by six games.
 
"We have absolutely nothing to lose. We have zero pressure," LaRoche said. "We're in a bad position. Everyone is just going out there and doing their thing."
 
LaRoche went 4-for-4, including solo homers in the second and the sixth, giving him 25 this season -- 12 since he was acquired from the Boston Red Sox on July 31. He had an RBI double in the fourth, and a leadoff double in the eighth.
 
LaRoche scored four runs and became the first Braves player to have four extra-base hits in a game since doing it himself during his first stint with the team, on Aug. 30, 2006.
 
"I'm just swinging at good pitches," he said. "I get in trouble when I start chasing."
 
McLouth's two-run double off Pat Misch (1-3) finished off a three-run fourth that gave the Braves a 4-0 lead before a sparse crowd at Turner Field. McLouth had another double in the ninth, driving in the final run.
 
Omar Infante had three hits for the Braves.
 
The Mets, who have lost seven of eight, managed one hit off Hanson through the first six innings. They finally strung together a couple of hits in the seventh, but Anderson Hernandez grounded out to end the threat.
 
"He looks like a very good young pitcher," New York manager Jerry Manuel said. "We'll probably be battling him a long time in this division. It looks like he has command of all his pitches. When he gets behind in the count, he can go to his off-speed pitches. That's a good trait."
 
Hanson didn't allow a runner past second base. Mike Gonzalez and Eric O'Flaherty finished off the four-hitter, the Braves' ninth shutout of the season.
 
Daniel Murphy said Hanson has clearly improved since spring training. The rookie started the season at Triple-A but was called up when the Braves released Tom Glavine in early May.
 
"His pitches weren't quite as crisp in spring training," Murphy said. "Apparently, he has found it. He's making better pitches. He lives on the corners."
 
Misch went five innings, surrendering eight hits and four runs. He walked one and didn't strike out anyone.
 
Game notes
Hanson had a good night at the plate with three straight sacrifice bunts, each coming after Infante singled. ... Heavy rain washed out batting practice, but the game started on time and there were no more showers. ... The crowd was announced at 25,094, but there appeared to be less than 10,000 people at Turner Field. ... Braves 3B Chipper Jones missed his second straight game with a strained oblique and lower back pain, but SS Yunel Escobar returned after missing the last two games with a sprained right ankle.

ST. LOUIS -- Javier Vazquez doesn't think he was ever this efficient.
 

Vazquez needed just 94 pitches to shut down the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Atlanta Braves roughed up Chris Carpenter in a 9-2 win on Sunday.

"I don't remember throwing a complete game with less than 100 pitches," Vazquez said. "Usually I'm at 100 pitches by the seventh inning. I feel really good about that."
 
Vazquez allowed a leadoff single to Skip Schumaker and then retired the next 17 batters before Schumaker reached on an infield single in the sixth. It was the 25th complete game of Vazquez's career and his second of the season.
 
Vazquez (13-9) has won his last three decisions. He stuck out eight while walking none. He threw just 94 pitches.
 
St. Louis hadn't been swept since losing three in a row at Houston July 20-22 and hadn't been swept at home since losing four straight to the Colorado Rockies June 5-8.
 
"We got beat in two one-run games," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "Today, we just got pounded."
 
Carpenter, a Cy Young candidate, had his worst outing of the season. He allowed seven earned runs on nine hits in six innings.
 
"I made some bad pitches but I also made some good pitches," Carpenter said. "I just wasn't able to make a pitch to get out of the inning, bottom line."
 
After getting two quick outs to start the third, Carpenter (16-4) gave up six runs. With the bases loaded, Adam LaRoche hit a two-run double down the right-field line. Yunel Escobar then singled in two runs and Matt Diaz finished the scoring with a two-run ground-rule double.
 
"We were just able to put together some big hits with two outs," Kelly Johnson said. "Just getting those big hits, that was the ballgame."
 
Atlanta finished Carpenter's day in the sixth when Nate McLouth singled to right to score Diaz, who had been hit by a pitch leading off.
 
"We did a lot of hitting against a great pitcher," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "I don't know what it was today about Carpenter. We were able to hit line drives and find holes. Even in the first two innings we hit about four balls really hard."
 
The loss was Carpenter's first since June 30th when the San Francisco Giants beat the Cardinals 6-3 snapping his 11-game winning streak. Carpenter's league-leading 2.16 ERA jumped to 2.45. He now trails the Giants' Tim Lincecum (2.34).
 
The Braves made it 8-0 in the eighth when David Ross doubled home Diaz off reliever Brad Thompson.
 
LaRoche hit a solo shot in the ninth, his 22nd of the season. He has now hit safely in 26 of his last 29 games.
 
Matt Holliday had a two-run single in the ninth for the Cardinals.
 
"He's had a good year," Holliday said about Vazquez. "He got a big lead early and it allowed him to dictate how he pitched and he made it tough on us."
 
Game notes
Braves C Brian McCann, whose two run double was the game winner yesterday, is 8-for-13 (.615) since snapping an 0-for-20 spell last Thursday.

ST. LOUIS -- Brian McCann knew he got his pitch. What he didn't know was how well he hit it.
 

Brian McCann hit a two-run double in the top of the ninth off closer Ryan Franklin and the Atlanta Braves held on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 on Saturday.

"I put together a good at-bat there in the ninth," McCann said. "I was just trying to get a pitch up in the zone and I hit it a little better and it reached the wall."
 
Franklin (2-3) blew his second straight save -- and fourth of the season -- as the Cardinals dropped two in a row for the first time since July 25-26 when they lost consecutive games to Philadelphia.
 
Mike Gonzalez (4-4) allowed two runs, one earned in the eighth which gave the Cardinals a 6-5 lead.
 
Rafael Soriano closed out the game for Atlanta for his 24th save in 28 chances.
After the game, Braves manager Bobby Cox was smoking a victory cigar.
 
"That's a good one, you bet," Cox said. "You can never get down. Franklin's done an unbelievable job but like I tell my guys, anything can happen."
 
The Cardinals rallied to take the lead in the eighth before Franklin fell apart in the ninth, allowing three hits and a walk. Nate McClouth led off with a double and Martin Prado singled him to third before Chipper Jones walked to load the bases.
 
"I'm not one to lean on excuses," Franklin said. "I just would rather say I didn't get it done."
 
McCann followed with a double to center that left runners on second and third with no outs, but Franklin escaped further damage with two strikeouts and a pop out.
 
The Cardinals took the lead in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Yadier Molina and an RBI groundout by Brendan Ryan.
 
Atlanta starter Tim Hudson allowed four runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings. He walked two and struck out one. His biggest contribution was his first career home run, a two-run shot in the second that gave the Braves a 3-2 lead.
 
"Obviously its been a while since I've trotted around the bases like that," said Hudson, who hit 18 homers in his season season at Auburn. "I was really scared I was going to go my whole career without hitting one but it was exciting. It felt as good or better than any shutout I've thrown."
 
Kyle Lohse made his first start since August 21 after returning from his second stint on the disabled list with a groin strain. He allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings pitched, his third shortest start of the year.
 
"PG-not good." Lohse said of his outing. "I just couldn't get the ball down, it seemed like it was a constant battle. There's no excuse for it, it just wasn't happening."
 
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was ejected by home plate umpire Greg Gibson for arguing balls and strikes after the sixth inning. It was La Russa's first ejection of the season.
 
"I feel like when the tape is reviewed," La Russa said. "They'll see there were some close calls that we had a reason to question. You still play the game. Umpires don't beat you."
 
Game notes
Cardinals pitcher John Smoltz will miss his next scheduled start Monday against Florida with shoulder tendinits.
 

ST. LOUIS -- One run was plenty for Jair Jurrjens, who tamed the St. Louis Cardinals' offense.
 

The 23-year-old right-hander worked eight scoreless innings, overcoming another light offensive showing behind him in the Atlanta Braves' 1-0 victory on Friday night. He's allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of his last 12 starts, but is only 5-3 in that stretch.
 
"Against this team, one mistake can cost the game," Jurrjens said. "I was challenging them the whole game, just challenging the hitters and getting ahead."
 
Jurrjens (11-10) allowed six hits while striking out seven with one walk, matching his career best for innings and helping end Joel Pineiro's eight-game winning streak dating to July 3. The Cardinals were 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position against Jurrjens, yet came up empty.
 
"He keeps us in every ballgame and he's just been dominant all year," catcher Brian McCann said. "Tonight might have been his best performance of the year."
 
Cardinals hitters certainly were impressed.
 
"He's got a bright future," Matt Holliday said. "Or, he's pretty much in his future."
Jurrjens had been 0-2 in his last three starts despite a 2.49 ERA while working at least seven innings in all three games because the Braves lost 3-1, 3-2 and 2-1 in 12 innings. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his 23rd save in 27 chances.
 
Pineiro (14-10) had been 8-0 with a 3.09 ERA in 12 starts since his last loss since June 28 against the Twins. He allowed one run on five hits in seven innings while benefiting from double play balls to end the second, third and fourth, matching his season high with seven strikeouts and walking two.
 
"They've picked me up a couple of times," Pineiro said. "Today was just one of those days."

Albert Pujols had a forgettable game for St. Louis with the third two-error game of his career at first base while going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and no balls out of the infield against the 23-year-old right-hander Jurrjens. The NL Central leaders lost for the first time in 17 games on a day when the second-place Cubs also won, shaving their formidable lead to 10 1/2 games.
 
Pujols pulled his foot off the bag on Omar Infante's run-scoring groundout in the second for his first error. His second error came two at-bats later when he flubbed a barehand stop on Jurrjens' roller down the line leading off the third.
 
Pujols had a pair of two-error games at first base in a stretch of six days in June 2007 and has five two-error games for his career, including two at third base as a rookie in 2001.

Manager Tony La Russa preferred to talk about Pujols' nice defensive play to save a run in the seventh.
 
"Isn't he the guy that made the play on the guy at the plate?" La Russa said. "Albert did not have a bad defensive day, in any way, shape or form."
 
The Cardinals had a tough luck sixth after Pujols reached on third baseman Martin Prado's fielding error and Holliday was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Pujols was struck by Ludwick's grounder while attempting to shield Escobar's view of the ball at shortstop for the first out, Holliday was out on a close play at the plate on Church's 10th assist of the season and Prado made a diving stop on Mark DeRosa's smash then made the throw for the third out.
 
Holliday thought he was safe and replays appeared to back him up with catcher Brian McCann tagging him on the elbow. Holliday watched replays, too.
 
"It was obviously a close play, but I thought I was clearly on the plate when he tagged me," Holliday said. "It's a close play, a judgment call. You win some and lose some."
 
It was the Braves' turn to be frustrated in the seventh after loading the bases with one out. Pujols made a nice stop of pinch hitter Chipper Jones' smash and threw home for a forceout as Pineiro, who had been on the way to first, had to hit the deck.
Then Jurrjens took a called third strike.
 
Game notes
Jones is in a 9-for-78 slump. ... Yunel Escobar had two hits and leads the Braves with 40 multihit games.

HOUSTON -- Roy Oswalt just can't figure out the Atlanta Braves.
 

Garret Anderson drove in three runs, Nate McLouth homered and Atlanta broke out of its offensive slump with a 9-7 win over Oswalt and the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
 
Brian McCann had four hits and two RBIs for the Braves, who finished with 16 hits, two shy of their season high. Atlanta's run total was its highest since a 9-1 win over Philadelphia on Aug. 29.
 
"We did a lot of hitting," manager Bobby Cox said. "Everyone seemed to chip in with it."
 
Oswalt (8-6) gave up six runs and 10 hits -- matching a season worst -- in two innings, dropping to 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA in seven career starts against Atlanta.
 
"He left some pitches up, which he normally doesn't do," McCann said. "We were able to put some good swings on it. It was definitely something we needed to do."
 
The Braves had scored a total of 10 runs and batted .153 in their previous six games, but led 3-0 after 12 pitches.
 
Oswalt left his previous start with soreness in his back and departed the clubhouse without speaking to reporters after this one, but manager Cecil Cooper said the right-hander's back wasn't bothering him.
 
"It looked like the ball was coming out of his hand OK, but he was just having trouble getting his pitches where he needed them," Cooper said. "The back wasn't an issue. I went over to him and asked him about it, but he told me it was fine."
 
Lance Berkman hit a three-run homer for the Astros, who lost for the third time in Oswalt's last 13 starts.
 
Houston put two runners on with one out in the ninth against Mike Gonzalez, but Miguel Tejada grounded into his third double play of the game. Gonzalez earned his 10th save.
 
"I wish I could do better than I did, but that is part of the game," said Tejada, who became the first Astros player to ground into three double plays. "I try to do good every day, but today was the kind of day where nothing was working out for me."
 
McLouth hit the second pitch of the game into the Astros' bullpen, his second homer of the series. Yunel Escobar then doubled to left-center and scored on Chipper Jones' single to right.
 
McCann ended an 0-for-20 slump with a single and Jones scored on Anderson's sacrifice fly to left.
 
Atlanta added three more in the second. McCann doubled in McLouth to give the Braves a 4-1 lead. Anderson and Adam LaRoche added RBI singles.
 
Tejada thought Oswalt's back must have been hurting, despite what he told Cooper.
 
"I was surprised to see the way he was," Tejada said. "He is one of those pitchers that just does not ever give in. We have to think he did what he did because of his back."
 
Derek Lowe (14-9) allowed five runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings, managing to win for the second time in five starts. The right-hander reached 14 wins for the sixth time in 13 seasons but is disappointed with his year.
 
"It's been kind of a struggle for me," Lowe said. "If it was a normal year, where you're a lot more consistent, then you can kind of settle down. But this is kind of how I've been pitching for so long. It's been a long season."
 
Berkman hit his 19th homer off the facade in left center in the third, cutting Atlanta's lead to 6-4. Umpires used instant replay to confirm the ball cleared the yellow line by about a foot.
 
The first baseman hadn't homered in 32 games, one shy of the longest drought of his career.
 
Game notes
Atlanta reached 10 hits for the first time since an 8-7 loss to Florida on Sept. 2. ... McLouth has three leadoff homers this season and six in his career.

HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros were just glad to see Tommy Hanson out of the game.
 

One inning after the Atlanta Braves' rookie pitcher left, Miguel Tejada hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to give the Astros a 2-1 victory Wednesday night.
 
Hanson had been overpowering for eight innings, striking out seven and allowing five singles and no walks in his longest major league outing.
 
So Houston felt it had a chance when closer Rafael Soriano (1-5) entered to try to get the save.
 
Kaz Matsui led off the ninth with a single and Lance Berkman doubled to left. Carlos Lee was intentionally walked and Tejada's single up the middle handed Soriano his fourth blown save.
 
Tejada admitted he was glad to not have to face Hanson.
 
"Not just me," Tejada said. "Everybody was. The way the game was going, the way he was pitching, we weren't doing much. The kid is unbelievable. He pitched a great game. I just tried to hit the ball up the middle with the bases loaded. That's what I do best."
 
Astros manager Cecil Cooper was another person happy that Hanson was out of the game.
 
"We probably wouldn't have gotten anything off of him," Cooper said. "It didn't look like it. We had chances and we didn't really do anything against him. That kid's pretty impressive."
 
The Braves, who have lost six of seven, were stunned.
 
"It [the loss] was awful the way he pitched," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "He pitched terrific baseball. He had everything going. Hanson was right at 100 [pitches]. He wanted to go back out and could have come back out. But you have to be careful. You always want to start your closer with a clean inning. You don't want him to come in with men on. And we've got confidence in him."
 
Hanson was pragmatic about the loss.
 
"That's just the way it goes sometimes," he said. "We did a good job of keeping runs off the board. That's just baseball. Everything felt really good. I would definitely say that was one of my better starts."
 
Hanson would have liked to go one more inning.
 
"I understood the situation [in the ninth] 100 percent," he said. "He's the manager and I do what he says. Every start, I want to go back out. (Cox) is the one who decides when I come out of the game. That's the way it goes."
 
Jose Valverde (4-2) struck out two in a perfect ninth for the win.
 
Houston's Wandy Rodriguez went seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, striking out six.
 
Rodriguez, who retired 10 of 11 hitters from the second through the fifth innings, has limited opponents to one run or less in 11 of his last 13 starts.
 
The Braves went ahead in the second inning when Yunel Escobar led off with a walk and went to second on Brian McCann's infield groundout. Matt Diaz drove in Escobar with a single to right.
 
Game notes
The Braves are 24-21 in one-run games after going a majors-worst 11-30 last season. ... The Braves have had 84 quality starts, nine more than all last season.