Rookie Jason Heyward homered for the second day in a row, right-hander Tommy Hanson threw eight strong innings and the Atlanta Braves snapped their nine-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory against the Houston Astros on Friday.

Heyward gave the Braves the lead for good in the third, blasting his sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot that broke a 2-2 tie.

The Braves staked Hanson to a 2-0 lead before he ever took the mound, but it didn't last long. The Astros scored two in the second to tie it on RBI singles by Hunter Pence and J.R. Towles.

Hanson (2-2) settled in after that in his longest outing of the campaign, allowing only four hits and striking out seven. Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Brett Myers (1-2) took the loss, giving up four runs -- three earned - on six hits over seven innings. He started in place of Wandy Rodriguez, who was pushed back a day because of back spasms.

Nate McLouth, who had a pair of hits, led off the game with a home run - his second of the year.