Houston Astros 2005 NLDS
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Houston Astros
Wild Card Champions 89-73 |
VS. |
Atlanta Braves
NL East Champions 90-72 |
For the second year in a row, the Astros came from way behind to grab the last playoff berth on the final day of the season so it just seemed like deja vu that they would face the Atlanta Braves in the first round.
If it seemed as if there was a National League rule requiring the Astros to face the Braves every time they reached the postseason, you could be excused for believing that way. Houston had made it to the playoffs six times in the past nine seasons and, in five of them, their first-round opponent was the Braves.
As with the previous year, Atlanta was led by the unrelated Jones boys - infielder Chipper and outfielder Andruw. 2005 was a career year for Andruw who swatted 51 homers and drove in 128 runs. Chipper was limited to 109 games due to injury but batted .296 with 21 homers. Shortstop Rafael Furcal had become the sparkplug, hitting .284 with 46 steals.
Tim Hudson (14-9) and John Smoltz (14-7) gave the team a veteran 1-2 punch on the mound but the Braves had to scramble to piece together the back end of the rotation and the bullpen. Three pitchers saved 10 or more games but none more than 15. Manager Bobby Cox did perhaps the best managing job of his career, juggling a staff with too few dependable parts.
Behind the scenes, owner Ted Turner's empire was sold to media giant Time Warner who now ran the Braves like a budget flick. While Cox and General Manager John Schuerholtz were able to sustain the Braves for a few years with their skill, the cracks in the Braves' dynasty were now exposed.
The Astros knew that if they could get past Atlanta's starters, they stood a good chance of feasting on the bullpen and they were right. But the plucky Braves fought the Astros to the last breath of the four-game series, providing fans with a gut-wrenching record-setting masterpiece in the final act.
Game 1 at Atlanta - Astros 10, Braves 5
Wednesday, October 5th
Game 1 Photos
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 5 0 - 10 11 1
Atlanta 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 - 5 9 1
Win - Pettitte. Loss - Hudson.
HR - CJones, AJones
Time - 3:11. Attendance - 40,590.
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ATLANTA - In a quiet corner of the visitors' clubhouse at Turner Field, Astros owner Drayton McLane busily got to work Wednesday evening after his team won Game 1 of its Division Series. Back in spring training, he vowed to clean his players' spikes after each game if they reached the postseason. The gesture could not have been more appropriate after McLane's Astros received contributions from top to bottom while cleaning up 10-5 against the Atlanta Braves to start the best-of-five series. From Craig Biggio leading off and Morgan Ensberg getting five RBIs in the cleanup spot all the way to lefthander Andy Pettitte, the Astros did the little things and the big ones, too. They sacrificed runners over, drove in runs with two outs, and took walks when Atlanta righthander Tim Hudson missed the strike zone. "To come in here in this building, it's hard to get any wins in here," Biggio said after going 2-for-3 with a double, three runs and one RBI. "We did a lot things right today, played a little small ball. "We executed. We got some big runs, got some big two-out hits. It turned out to be a `W,' so overall it was a good day for us." McLane was one of only a few Astros who didn't jump on Hudson. "Obviously, the performance wasn't too good," Hudson said after giving up seven hits and five runs with five walks and three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. "It just took me awhile to make the adjustments (in the) first few innings. You know, I was overthrowing, leaving the rubber too quick." Pettitte countered with seven strong innings, holding the Braves to three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts to tie Smoltz for first on the all-time postseason victory list with his 14th. "When you feel like you're going to put some runs on the board, it helps," said Pettitte, who sat out last year's postseason because of elbow surgery. "I mean, it helped. Obviously." Although the Astros pulled away with five runs in the eighth inning against three relievers, they took control against Hudson. Biggio led off the game with a single up the middle. Willy Taveras moved him to second with the first of the Astros' four sacrifice bunts, which set a Division Series record. After Berkman drew a four-pitch walk, Ensberg, who went 3-for-4 with a walk, gave the Astros a 1-0 lead with a single to center. Jason Lane's double-play grounder to third let Hudson escape further damage. Chipper Jones tied the score at 1 with a two-out home run over the right-field wall in the bottom of the first. Biggio started the Astros' two-run rally in the third with a one-out double to center, hustling into second on a close play. Taveras followed with a walk, and Berkman loaded the bases with his second consecutive four-pitch walk. Ensberg followed with a two-run single through the left side. Brad Ausmus got the Astros going again in the fourth with a leadoff double over center fielder Andruw Jones' head. Pettitte sacrificed him to third, and Biggio made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly to center. Andruw Jones cut the Astros' lead to 4-3 with a two-run homer over the center-field wall in the bottom of the fourth. Pettitte led off the seventh with a double. After Biggio sacrificed him, Taveras grounded out to short. Hudson intentionally walked Berkman to face Ensberg, but the move backfired. Ensberg singled through the left side, prompting Braves manager Bobby Cox to call on rookie righthander Joey Devine. The Astros started pulling away in the eighth. Adam Everett and Ausmus started the inning with consecutive singles off righthander Chris Reitsma. After Pettitte sacrificed, Reitsma intentionally walked Biggio to load the bases. Garner responded by sending Jeff Bagwell to hit for Taveras, and Bagwell gave the Astros a 6-3 lead with an RBI single to left. Lefthander John Foster replaced Reitsma and struck out Berkman before issuing Ensberg's RBI walk. Foster uncorked a wild pitch with his first offering to Lane, letting Biggio score another run. After Lane was intentionally walked, Orlando Palmeiro drove in two more with a single. "I was surprised that we put the runs on the board - I'm not going to lie to you - like we did," Pettitte said. "Credit (goes) to our hitters." Box Score HOUSTON (10) VS ATLANTA (5) PLAYOFFS - FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 5 0 - 10 11 1
Atlanta 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 - 5 9 1
HOUSTON AB R H RBI BB SO
Biggio 2b 3 3 2 1 1 0
Springer p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gallo p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Taveras cf 2 1 0 0 1 0
Bagwell ph 1 1 1 1 0 0
Bruntlett cf 1 0 0 0 0 1
Berkman 1b 2 0 0 0 3 1
Ensberg 3b 4 1 3 5 1 1
Lane rf 3 0 0 0 1 1
Palmeiro lf 3 0 1 2 1 0
Everett ss 4 1 1 0 1 0
Ausmus c 5 2 2 0 0 1
Pettitte p 2 1 1 0 0 1
Wheeler p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vizcaino ph,2b 1 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 31 10 11 9 9 6
FIELDING -
DP: 2. Everett-Biggio-Berkman, Vizcaino-Everett-Berkman.
E: Ensberg (1).
BATTING -
2B: Biggio (1,off Hudson); Ausmus (1,off Hudson); Pettitte (1,off Hudson).
SH: Taveras (1,off Hudson); Pettitte 2 (2,off Hudson,off Reitsma); Biggio (1,off Hudson).
SF: Biggio (1,off Hudson).
HBP: Palmeiro (1,by Hudson); Lane (1,by Devine).
IBB: Berkman (1,by Hudson); Biggio (1,by Reitsma); Lane (1,by Foster).
Team LOB: 10.
ATLANTA AB R H RBI BB SO
Furcal ss 5 1 1 0 0 1
Giles 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0
C. Jones 3b 4 1 2 2 0 1
A. Jones cf 3 1 1 2 1 1
Franco 1b 3 0 0 0 1 2
Francoeur rf 4 1 2 0 0 0
Jordan lf 3 0 0 0 0 0
Langerhans ph 1 0 0 0 0 1
Estrada c 4 0 1 1 0 2
Hudson p 2 0 0 0 0 0
Devine p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reitsma p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Foster p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brower p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Orr ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
McBride p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Johnson ph 0 0 0 0 0 0
Betemit ph 1 0 1 0 0 0
Totals 34 5 9 5 2 8
FIELDING -
DP: 2. C. Jones-Giles-Franco, Furcal-Giles-Franco.
BATTING -
2B: Giles (1,off Pettitte); C. Jones (1,off Wheeler).
3B: Francoeur (1,off Springer).
HR: C. Jones (1,1st inning off Pettitte 0 on 2 out); A. Jones (1,4th inning
off Pettitte 1 on 1 out).
HBP: Giles (1,by Wheeler).
Team LOB: 5.
PITCHING -
HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr
Pettitte W(1-0) 7 4 3 3 2 6 2
Wheeler 1 2 1 1 0 1 0
Springer 0.1 2 1 1 0 1 0
Gallo 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 9 9 5 5 2 8 2
HBP: Wheeler (1,Giles).
ATLANTA ip h r er bb so hr
Hudson L(0-1) 6.2 7 5 5 5 3 0
Devine 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reitsma 0.1 3 4 4 1 0 0
Foster 0.1 1 1 1 2 1 0
Brower 0.1 0 0 0 1 1 0
McBride 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 9 11 10 10 9 6 0
WP: Foster (1).
HBP: Hudson (1,Palmeiro); Devine (1,Lane).
IBB: Hudson (1,Berkman); Reitsma (1,Biggio); Foster (1,Lane).
UMPIRES: HP - Joe Brinkman, 1B - Marvin Hudson, 2B - Jeff Nelson, 3B - Gary Cederstrom, LF -
Eric Cooper, RF - Sam Holbrook
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Game 2 at Atlanta - Braves 7, Astros 1
Thursday, October 6th
Game 2 Photos
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 8 1
Atlanta 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 7 11 0
Win - Smoltz. Loss - Clemens.
HR - McCann
Time - 2:52. Attendance - 46,181.
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ATLANTA - Astros shortstop Adam Everett grew up a short drive from Turner Field, paying close attention to John Smoltz. Everett knows perfectly well that once Smoltz settles in, there aren't going to be many scoring opportunities against the Atlanta Braves' veteran righthander. Just in case Everett and the Astros had forgotten, though, Smoltz recovered from a rough first inning Thursday night to beat them 7-1 in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. The best-of-five series is tied at one game apiece heading to Minute Maid Park. Everett and the Astros had a chance to pounce in the first inning. The bases were loaded, one run had scored, and Smoltz had thrown 22 pitches. Two fastballs and a slider later, Smoltz had struck out Everett to leave the bases loaded before an appreciative Turner Field crowd of 46,181. "He's that type of pitcher (that) the further along he gets in the game, the more dominant he gets," Everett said. "He's got pinpoint control, and you've got to take advantage when you get the chance." On a drizzly night when Smoltz, 38, and Astros ace Roger Clemens, 43, mounted a duel of ailing righthanders, Smoltz appeared very much like a man who hadn't started since Sept. 23. But he settled in nicely for his major league-record 15th postseason victory. In his first postseason start since losing Game 4 of the 1999 World Series against Clemens and the New York Yankees, Smoltz gave up only one run on seven hits with one intentional walk and five strikeouts over seven innings. Smoltz, who was not allowed to start Game 1 because of a tired right shoulder even though he skipped his last scheduled regular-season start, struggled after striking out leadoff hitter Craig Biggio on three sliders in the first inning. Willy Taveras followed Biggio with a bloop single to shallow right field, barely out of the grasp of Braves second baseman Marcus Giles. Lance Berkman added a single to center. After Morgan Ensberg's fielder's-choice grounder to third, Jason Lane sent Smoltz's 1-2 curveball into left field for an RBI single. Smoltz fell behind in the count to Orlando Palmeiro and ultimately issued an intentional walk, loading the bases for Everett. The Braves weren't as forgiving against Clemens, who didn't use his recent left hamstring strain as an excuse after giving up six hits and five runs with three walks and two strikeouts over five innings. Andruw Jones led off the second against Clemens with a single through the left side. After Adam LaRoche sacrificed, Jeff Francoeur drew a walk. Clemens struck out Ryan Langerhans for the second out. With Smoltz on deck, though, Clemens fell behind in the count 2-0 against rookie Brian McCann. Clemens, who gave up more than two earned runs only twice this season before suffering a strained left hamstring Sept. 3, could have pitched around McCann or intentionally walked him to load the bases and face Smoltz. "I was going to go up there hacking, because there were two outs," McCann said. "I didn't want (the) bases loaded with John up. He would have probably thrown everything at him. So I was going up there hacking, trying to get a pitch out over the plate." That's exactly what the rookie catcher got when Clemens challenged him with a fastball that was supposed to be down and away. The 2-0 fastball tailed in. McCann ripped it an estimated 409 feet for a three-run homer to right, becoming the first player in Braves history to go deep in his first career postseason at-bat. Clemens got in trouble again after retiring Rafael Furcal and Giles in the third inning. Chipper Jones drew a two-out walk, and Andruw Jones followed with a single to center. LaRoche gave the Braves a 5-1 lead with a double to left. The Astros mounted their final threat off Smoltz with Chris Burke's two-out pinch double in the seventh, but Craig Biggio grounded out to third. Smoltz looked toward third base, noticed Chipper Jones' diving stab on the hard grounder and pumped his fist after Jones delivered a throw to first base ahead of Biggio's headfirst slide to end the inning. The Braves added two runs on four hits in the seventh against righthander Chad Qualls, who actually got off easy because Furcal and Francoeur ran into outs after singles. "In Smoltz's case, we had him early on the ropes a little bit," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "We couldn't come up with a big hit when we needed it." Box Score ATLANTA (7) VS HOUSTON (1) PLAYOFFS - FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 8 1
Atlanta 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 7 11 0
HOUSTON AB R H RBI BB SO
Biggio 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2
Taveras cf 4 0 3 0 0 0
Berkman 1b 4 1 2 0 0 0
Ensberg 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0
Lane rf 4 0 1 1 0 0
Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Palmeiro lf 3 0 0 0 1 0
Everett ss 4 0 0 0 0 1
Ausmus c 4 0 0 0 0 2
Clemens p 2 0 0 0 0 1
Backe p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Burke ph 1 0 1 0 0 0
Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 34 1 8 1 1 6
FIELDING -
DP: 1. Backe-Everett-Biggio.
E: Qualls (1).
BATTING -
2B: Burke (1,off Smoltz).
IBB: Palmeiro (1,by Smoltz).
Team LOB: 7.
ATLANTA AB R H RBI BB SO
Furcal ss 4 0 2 0 1 0
Giles 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0
C. Jones 3b 3 1 0 0 1 0
A. Jones cf 4 3 3 1 0 0
LaRoche 1b 1 0 1 2 2 0
Francoeur rf 3 1 1 1 1 1
Langerhans lf 4 0 2 0 0 1
McCann c 4 1 1 3 0 1
Smoltz p 2 0 0 0 0 0
Reitsma p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Johnson ph 0 0 0 0 1 0
Farnsworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 7 11 7 6 3
FIELDING -
DP: 1. Giles-Furcal-LaRoche.
BATTING -
2B: LaRoche (1,off Clemens).
HR: McCann (1,2nd inning off Clemens 2 on 2 out).
SH: LaRoche (1,off Clemens); Smoltz (1,off Clemens).
IBB: LaRoche (1,by Qualls).
Team LOB: 7.
BASERUNNING -
SB: Furcal (1,2nd base off Clemens/Ausmus).
PITCHING
HOUSTON IP H R ER BB SO HR
Clemens L(0-1) 5 6 5 5 3 2 1
Backe 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
Qualls 1 4 2 2 1 0 0
Lidge 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
Totals 8 11 7 7 6 3 1
IBB: Qualls (1,LaRoche).
ATLANTA IP H R ER BB SO HR
Smoltz W(1-0) 7 7 1 1 1 5 0
Reitsma 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Farnsworth 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 9 8 1 1 1 6 0
IBB: Smoltz (1,Palmeiro).
UMPIRES: HP - Marvin Hudson, 1B - Jeff Nelson, 2B - Gary Cederstrom, 3B - Eric Cooper, LF -
Sam Holbrook, RF - Joe Brinkman
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Game 3 at Houston - Astros 7, Braves 3
Saturday, October 8th
Game 3 Photos
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 3 8 0
Houston 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 x - 7 12 1
Win - Oswalt. Loss - Sosa.
HR - Lamb.
Time - 2:50. Attendance - 43,759.
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HOUSTON - Craig Biggio and Roy Oswalt had already pushed the Astros close to victory when Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox went to his ragged bullpen in the seventh inning Saturday night in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Cox's call to the bullpen was the opening the wild-card Astros needed to pull away from the Braves and get within one victory of a berth in the National League Championship Series. Biggio led off the seventh with a double to left off righthander Chris Reitsma, setting the tone in the four-run rally that pushed the Astros to a 7-3 victory before a sold-out, Minute Maid Park-record crowd of 43,759. With 7 1/3 innings of three-run ball, Oswalt beat Atlanta to build a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. Jorge Sosa held the Astros to three runs on seven hits with two intentional walks, three strikeouts and one hit batter over six innings in his postseason debut, but he was already icing his right shoulder when four Braves relievers gave up four runs in the seventh. Biggio, who was 3-for-5 with three doubles, greeted Sosa with a leadoff double off the wall in left field in the first. After Willy Taveras failed to drop a sacrifice bunt, he took a called third strike for the first out. Sosa hit Lance Berkman with his first pitch. Morgan Ensberg followed with an RBI double. Sosa intentionally walked the lefthanded-hitting Mike Lamb to load the bases for righthanded-hitting Jason Lane, who gave the Astros a 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly. The threat ended on Adam Everett's fly out to left field. Andruw Jones led off the second with a single. With the count 3-1 on Adam La Roche, plate umpire Jeff Nelson called Oswalt for a balk. Nelson ruled Oswalt had made an illegal pitch resulting from Oswalt delivering his 3-1 pitch from the set position without coming to a stop. Under baseball rule 8.05, La Roche was entitled to choose whether he would accept the result of the pitch. He took the walk, officially eliminating the balk from Oswalt's line. Nonetheless, the Braves had two men on with nobody out. Oswalt induced a double play grounder to third from Jeff Francoeur but walked Ryan Langerhans on four pitches. Brian McCann cut the Astros' lead in half with a bloop single. Sosa tied the score at 2 with a single through the left side. Finally given something to hit, Lamb showed why it made sense for Sosa to intentionally walk him in the first inning. With two out in the third, Lamb ripped Sosa's 2-1 offering over the right field wall to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. After striking out Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones to start the sixth, Oswalt gave up La Roche's single to left. He hit Francoeur with a 2-2 inside fastball, putting La Roche with the potential tying run at second. Oswalt fell behind in the count 2-1 on Langerhans. Instead of challenging with a fastball, he turned to his trusty curveball. Langerhans bit, stranding the potential tying and go-ahead runs with a fly to right. After using a pinch hitter for Sosa in the top of the seventh, Cox called Reitsma in the bottom of the seventh. Biggio greeted the reliever with a double to left. Asked to sacrifice for the second time, Taveras couldn't execute a play that had become second nature to him as he led the majors in bunt singles during the regular season. Taveras popped his first bunt attempt foul, just a few feet away from catcher McCann's reach. He took the next pitch for a strike. With a 1-2 count, the sacrifice was taken off. Taveras fouled off a 1-2 pitch before blooping the next one over Reitsma's head. Fortunately for the Astros, Taveras' speed helped him get an infield hit as Giles charged in from second without any luck while trying to grip the ball. With runners at the corners, Cox called lefthander John Foster to flip the switch-hitting Berkman to his supposed weaker right side. Berkman greeted Foster with an RBI single through the left side. Rookie Joey Devine was called upon to face Ensberg, and he was greeted with an RBI double. Devine intentionally walked Lamb to load the bases. Lane kept the rally going with an RBI single to left, prompting another call to the bullpen. Righthander Jim Brower took over and gave up Everett's sacrifice fly to center. With a man on first and one out in the eighth, Oswalt gave way to righthander Dan Wheeler. Andruw Jones greeted Wheeler with an RBI double. Wheeler induced a fly out to center from La Roche and a grounder to short from Francoeur. Everett fielded Francoeur's grounder cleanly, but he let Francoeur reach safely with a short throw for an error. Phil Garner called on lefthander Mike Gallo to face Ryan Langerhans, and Cox countered with Brian Jordan, who stranded the runners at the corners with a grounder to second. Brad Lidge took care of the ninth, and now the Astros are one victory away from winning a postseason series over the NL East champion Braves for the second consecutive season. Box Score HOUSTON (7) VS ATLANTA (3) PLAYOFFS - FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Atlanta 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 3 8 0
Houston 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 x - 7 12 1
ATLANTA AB R H RBI BB SO
Furcal ss 5 0 0 0 0 0
Giles 2b 5 1 1 0 0 3
C. Jones 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1
A. Jones cf 4 0 3 1 0 1
LaRoche 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0
Francoeur rf 3 0 0 0 0 1
Langerhans lf 2 1 0 0 1 1
Jordan ph,lf 1 0 0 0 0 0
McCann c 4 0 1 1 0 1
Sosa p 2 0 1 1 0 1
Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Reitsma p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Foster p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Devine p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brower p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Franco ph 1 0 1 0 0 0
Orr pr 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 35 3 8 3 2 9
FIELDING -
DP: 2. Sosa-Furcal-LaRoche, LaRoche-Furcal-Brower.
BATTING -
2B: A. Jones 2 (2,off Oswalt,off Wheeler).
HBP: Francoeur (1,by Oswalt).
Team LOB: 8.
HOUSTON AB R H RBI BB SO
Biggio 2b 5 2 3 0 0 1
Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Taveras cf 5 1 2 0 0 1
Berkman lf,1b 3 2 1 1 0 2
Ensberg 3b 4 1 2 2 0 0
Lamb 1b 2 1 1 1 2 0
Burke lf 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lane rf 3 0 2 2 0 0
Everett ss 3 0 1 1 0 0
Ausmus c 3 0 0 0 1 0
Oswalt p 3 0 0 0 0 0
Wheeler p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gallo p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Palmeiro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Bruntlett 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 32 7 12 7 3 4
FIELDING -
DP: 1. Ensberg-Lamb.
E: Everett (1).
BATTING -
2B: Biggio 3 (4,off Sosa 2,off Reitsma); Ensberg 2 (2,off Sosa,off Devine);
Taveras (1,off Sosa); Lane (1,off Sosa).
HR: Lamb (1,3rd inning off Sosa 0 on 2 out).
SF: Lane (1,off Sosa); Everett (1,off Brower).
HBP: Berkman (1,by Sosa).
IBB: Lamb 2 (2,by Sosa,by Devine); Ausmus (1,by Sosa).
Team LOB: 7.
PITCHING -
ATLANTA IP H R ER BB SO HR
Sosa L(0-1) 6 7 3 3 2 3 1
Reitsma 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Foster 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
Devine 0 2 1 1 1 0 0
Brower 2 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 8 12 7 7 3 4 1
HBP: Sosa (1,Berkman).
IBB: Sosa 2 (2,Lamb,Ausmus); Devine (1,Lamb).
HOUSTON IP H R ER BB SO HR
Oswalt W(1-0) 7.1 6 3 3 2 7 0
Wheeler 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Gallo 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lidge 1 1 0 0 0 2 0
Totals 9 8 3 3 2 9 0
HBP: Oswalt (1,Francoeur).
UMPIRES: HP - Jeff Nelson, 1B - Gary Cederstrom, 2B - Eric Cooper, 3B - Sam Holbrook, LF -
Joe Brinkman, RF - Marvin Hudson
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Game 4 at Houston - Astros, 7, Braves 6 (18)
Sunday, October 9th
Game 4 Photos
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 131415 161718 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 6 13 0
Houston 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 7 10 1
Win - Clemens. Loss - Devine.
HR - LaRoche, McCann, Berkman, Ausmus, Burke.
Time - 5:50. Attendance - 43,413.
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HOUSTON - Under siege from teammates, Roger Clemens put his hands over his head and ducked as champagne showered him from all directions Sunday evening. Astros just kept coming at him, using the same determination and perseverance they had displayed earlier at Minute Maid Park against the Atlanta Braves. "I can't believe it," Clemens told his teammates as they celebrated their berth in the National League Championship Series. "I thought you guys didn't have any left. I thought we had already used the last bullets." Thanks to Clemens' gritty three innings of relief, the Astros had enough to win the historic Game 4 of the National League Division Series 7-6 on Chris Burke's walkoff home run in the 18th inning. "I'm just real proud of those guys," said Clemens, who earned the win in the first postseason relief outing of his career and his first relief appearance of any kind since he was a Boston Red Sox rookie 21 years ago. "We always talk about playing nine innings. This time, we had to play a few more than nine - double that. What can I say?" A sellout crowd of 43,413 was treated to the longest postseason game in major-league history as the Astros earned the right to face the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-seven NLCS. In a microcosm of their season, the Astros fell behind early and seemed all but done as the Braves carried a 6-1 lead into the eighth inning. Lance Berkman cut the deficit to one run with a grand slam off Kyle Farnsworth in the bottom of the eighth. Still, the Braves nursed a one-run lead as Farnsworth retired the first two batters in the ninth. With the Astros an out away from having to travel back to Atlanta for Game 5, Brad Ausmus tied the score at 6 by ripping a 2-0 fastball just above the yellow line in left-center field for a homer. That's when it really got interesting. Manager Phil Garner mixed and matched his 25-man roster, shifting several players from one position to another until finally moving starting catcher Ausmus back behind the plate from first base after using Clemens to pinch-hit for Dan Wheeler in the 15th. Clemens was literally the Astros' last line of defense. The only two pitchers remaining were Roy Oswalt, who started and won Game 3 on Saturday, and Andy Pettitte, who was in line to start Game 5. Even Berkman had to watch from the dugout. He had been replaced by pinch runner Burke after a two-out double in the 10th. "I don't know how to explain it," Garner said after the Astros won the best-of-five series 3-1 over the NL East champions. "It's been the darnedest thing I've ever seen. It looked like it was over. It looked like we were down and out. We came back. How do you explain that game? It's like the Sunday afternoon softball game where everybody on your block gets to play." After going 42 seasons without winning a postseason series, the Astros have now carried the wild card into the Division Series and eliminated the Braves in consecutive seasons. Last year, the Astros punched their NLCS ticket in five games. This year, they did it in four games, though Game 4 definitely was the equivalent of two in terms of innings and a lifetime of postseason games in terms of historic value. The Astros set a Division Series record by using 23 players. The 5 hours and 50 minutes of action also set a postseason record, surpassing the 5:49 the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox needed last year to decide Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. The 42 combined players marked the most used in a Division Series game, and the 14 total pitchers tied the DS record for most in a game. The grand slam Adam LaRoche hit off Brandon Backe to give the Braves a 4-0 lead in the third was the first allowed by the Astros in the postseason. Clemens, 43, got the call after Mike Gallo, Russ Springer, Wandy Rodriguez, Chad Qualls, Brad Lidge and Dan Wheeler combined to throw 10 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Lidge threw two innings with a season-high 45 pitches, and Wheeler followed with three innings and a season-high 55 pitches. "Regardless who you are, I don't care what kind of warrior you are, what kind of Hall of Famer you are, you're not going to pitch on two days' rest unless they desperately need you to," marveled Braves starter Tim Hudson, who settled for the no-decision after holding the Astros to six hits and three runs in seven-plus innings. "But he was able to come in, step up, get the job done and make some good pitches." It wasn't easy, but little has been easy for an Astros club that fell to 15-30 on May 24 before going 74-43 the rest of the way and becoming the first team to go from 15 games under .500 to the postseason in the same year since the 1914 Boston Braves. After Berkman's double in the 10th, the Astros did not collect a hit until Burke's homer with one out in the 18th. "Yeah, the game turned into a little bit of a three-ring circus," Burke said. "Things were going on. Rocket coming out of the bullpen, (Raul) Chavez played first base, and (Eric) Bruntlett played like 12 positions. It was just a crazy game. When they posted it was the longest game in postseason history, I didn't realize it. So once you see that, you realize you're going to be part of history." When it was finally over, second baseman Craig Biggio, right fielder Jason Lane and third baseman Morgan Ensberg were the only Astros to play the entire 18 innings in the positions where they started. Ausmus started behind the plate and moved to first in the 13th when Chavez entered in a double switch with Wheeler. Chavez, who had not played anywhere other than behind the plate this season, moved to first base after Clemens took the mound in the 16th. Burke sent the sellout crowd to its feet by lining righthander Joey Devine's 2-0 fastball into the Crawford Boxes. Most of the Astros sprinted out of the dugout to greet Burke at the plate. Clemens and Biggio, 39, took a little longer on their trip up the steps. "Two tired old men walking out there," a proud Biggio said. "We were letting all the kids have a good time jumping on top of each other. We were holding each other up." Biggio was right. The Astros all held each other up, and now they get another shot at the Cardinals, the team that ended their season last year a victory away from the World Series. Box Score HOUSTON (7) VS ATLANTA (6) PLAYOFFS - FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 131415 161718 R H E
Atlanta 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 6 13 0
Houston 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 7 10 1
ATLANTA AB R H RBI BB SO
Furcal ss 6 0 0 0 2 1
Giles 2b 7 2 1 0 2 2
C. Jones 3b 6 1 1 0 3 2
A. Jones cf 6 1 1 1 1 1
LaRoche 1b 4 1 2 4 0 1
Franco 1b 5 0 1 0 0 1
Francoeur rf 7 0 1 0 1 2
Langerhans lf 5 0 2 0 2 0
McCann c 8 1 1 1 0 4
Hudson p 4 0 2 0 0 1
Farnsworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Reitsma p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Betemit ph 1 0 0 0 0 1
Thomson p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Orr ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Brower p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jordan ph 1 0 1 0 0 0
Devine p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 62 6 13 6 11 16
FIELDING -
DP: 2. Furcal-Giles-LaRoche, Furcal-Giles-Franco.
BATTING -
2B: A. Jones (3,off Backe); C. Jones (2,off Backe); Hudson (1,off Springer);
Francoeur (1,off Springer); Langerhans (1,off Qualls); Jordan (1,off Clemens).
HR: LaRoche (1,3rd inning off Backe 3 on 2 out); McCann (2,8th inning off Rodriguez
0 on 0 out).
SH: Furcal (1,off Springer); Francoeur (1,off Wheeler).
SF: A. Jones (1,off Backe).
HBP: A. Jones (1,by Backe); Langerhans (1,by Gallo).
IBB: Francoeur (1,by Gallo); Langerhans (1,by Wheeler).
Team LOB: 18.
BASERUNNING -
SB: Furcal 2 (3,2nd base off Lidge/Ausmus,3rd base off Lidge/Ausmus);
Langerhans (1,2nd base off Lidge/Ausmus).
HOUSTON AB R H RBI BB SO
Biggio 2b 7 1 0 0 1 2
Taveras cf 3 0 0 0 0 0
Scott ph,lf 2 1 0 0 1 1
Wheeler p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Clemens ph,p 1 0 0 0 0 1
Berkman lf,1b 5 1 2 4 0 1
Burke pr,cf,lf 2 1 1 1 1 0
Ensberg 3b 6 0 0 0 1 2
Lamb 1b 4 0 2 0 0 0
Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bagwell ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chavez c,1b 1 0 0 0 1 0
Lane rf 7 1 1 0 0 2
Everett ss 3 0 1 0 0 0
Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vizcaino ss,1b,ss 4 0 0 0 0 1
Ausmus c,1b,c 6 1 2 1 1 1
Backe p 1 0 0 0 0 0
Gallo p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Palmeiro ph 0 0 0 1 0 0
Springer p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bruntlett ss,cf,ss,cf 5 1 1 0 0 3
Totals 58 7 10 7 6 14
FIELDING -
DP: 2. Biggio-Everett-Lamb, Ensberg-Biggio-Berkman.
E: Vizcaino (1).
BATTING -
2B: Berkman (1,off Reitsma).
HR: Berkman (1,8th inning off Farnsworth 3 on 1 out); Ausmus (1,9th inning
off Farnsworth 0 on 2 out); Burke (1,18th inning off Devine 0 on 1 out).
SH: Clemens (1,off Brower).
SF: Palmeiro (1,off Hudson).
IBB: Ensberg (1,by Reitsma).
Team LOB: 7.
BASERUNNING -
SB: Bruntlett (1,3rd base off Farnsworth/McCann); Biggio (1,2nd base off Farnsworth/McCann).
PITCHING -
ATLANTA IP H R ER BB SO HR
Hudson 7 6 3 3 1 5 0
Farnsworth 2 2 3 3 1 3 2
Reitsma 2 1 0 0 1 0 0
Thomson 2 0 0 0 1 3 0
Brower 3 0 0 0 2 0 0
Devine L(0-1) 1.1 1 1 1 0 3 1
Totals 17.1 10 7 7 6 14 3
IBB: Reitsma (2,Ensberg).
HOUSTON IP H R ER BB SO HR
Backe 4.1 5 5 5 3 2 1
Gallo 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0
Springer 2 3 0 0 1 0 0
Rodriguez 1 1 1 1 0 2 1
Qualls 2 1 0 0 1 1 0
Lidge 2 1 0 0 2 3 0
Wheeler 3 1 0 0 3 4 0
Clemens W(1-1) 3 1 0 0 0 4 0
Totals 18 13 6 6 11 16 2
WP: Backe (1).
HBP: Backe (1,A. Jones); Gallo (1,Langerhans).
IBB: Gallo (1,Francoeur); Wheeler (1,Langerhans).
UMPIRES: HP - Gary Cederstrom, 1B - Eric Cooper, 2B - Sam Holbrook, 3B - Joe Brinkman, LF -
Marvin Hudson, RF - Jeff Nelson
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Information for this page was compiled from Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves media sources, the Houston Chronicle and Retrosheet.org.