MLB: Houston 6, Pittsburgh 0

HOUSTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Roy Oswalt allowed three hits Thursday, faced the minimum number of batters and pushed Houston closer to the wild-card lead in a 6-0 victory over Pittsburgh.

After the spectacular performance, Oswalt and his teammates joined millions of others in the Houston area in making final preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Ike.

Prior to the start of Thursday's game, the Astros announced their scheduled contests with the Chicago Cubs Friday and Saturday had been postponed because of the hurricane threat.

Oswalt (15-9) allowed singles to Luis Rivas in the first, Doug Mientkiewicz in the eighth and Luis Cruz in the ninth. All three runners were wiped out in double plays. It was Oswalt's second straight complete-game shutout and he extended his scoreless-inning streak to a club-record 32 1/3 innings.

Houston's sixth straight victory, combined with Milwaukee's loss to Philadelphia, moved both the Astros and the Phillies to within three games of the Brewers in the NL wild-card race.

Oswalt helped his own cause with a squeeze bunt to drive in a run in the first inning and an RBI single during Houston's five-run fifth.