Houston Astros 3, Atlanta Braves 1

HOUSTON (AP) - Brad Ausmus hit a two-run homer in his final game with Houston and the Astros ended the season with a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Wandy Rodriguez (9-7) struck out six in seven strong innings and Jose Valverde shut out the Braves in the ninth to tie a franchise record with his 44th save. Billy Wagner saved 44 games for Houston in 2003.

Chipper Jones secured his first NL batting title, walking in his only at-bat. Jones hit a career-high .364 to edge Albert Pujols and become the NL’s first switch-hitting batting champion since Terry Pendleton won in his 1991 MVP season for Atlanta.

But the day belonged to the 39-year-old Ausmus, who caught a franchise-record 1,249 games in 10 seasons. A free agent, Ausmus has said he will retire if he can’t sign with a team based closer to his home in San Diego.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)