HOUSTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Darin Erstad hit a one-out home run in the ninth inning Friday, giving the Houston Astros a 5-4 victory over Atlanta.
Despite the Astros' third straight victory, their faint playoff hopes were officially ended when Milwaukee won earlier in the evening.
Houston vaulted into contention for the wild-card berth by winning 14 out of 15 games. Their momentum, however, was halted by Hurricane Ike, which forced Houston to remain idle for two days and then play the Chicago Cubs twice in Milwaukee.
The Astros lost five straight games after their hurricane break, effectively ending their playoff bid.
Houston took a 4-0 lead through three innings, but Atlanta came back to tie it in the top of the ninth. Erstad then delivered a homer -- his fourth of the season -- off Julian Tavares (1-5).
The win went to Jose Valverde (6-3), even though he gave up the game-tying run in the ninth.
