Late Monday night the heaving-hitting Houston Astros finally won a playoff series. For the first time in the 43-year history of the Houston franchise (including three seasons in the '60s as the Houston Colt .45s), the 'Stros made it to the next playoff round.
Houston had previously lost seven times in seven playoff appearances, including defeats to the Atlanta Braves in 1997, 1999 and 2001. But the team overwhelmed the Braves 12-3 on Monday to exact some scalps of its own and win the series three games to two. Houston clinched a spot opposite the equally potent St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, which begins tonight.
Led by midseason rental Carlos Beltran - the newest member of Houston's "Killer B's" -- the Houston lineup proved too much for the Braves' starter Jaret Wright and the Atlanta bullpen.
Beltran went 4-5 with five runs batted in and two homers in the decisive game, giving him four round trippers - a team record that surpassed that of the late Ken Caminiti - and nine runs batted in on the five game series. If Major League Baseball handed out a division series MVP nod, Beltran would be it.
The other Astro B's -- Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman - put up their own solid numbers during the series, helping the club overcome dramatic Atlanta rallies in games two and four and the Sunday death of often-troubled former Astro Caminiti.
Speaking of dramatic rallies, somebody forgot to tell the Los Angeles Dodgers how to turn off the Cardinal offensive tap. The Redbirds didn't simply rally, they exploded against L.A., who succumbed in four games.
With the exception of a brief moment of Jose Lima Time in Game Three of the series, a 4-0 Dodger win, the unstoppable St. Louis barrage outscored L.A. 22-8 in the three Cardinal wins.
Albert Pujols' hot regular season bat has continued into the postseason, while the Cards received some unexpected punch from catcher Mike Matheny, who chipped in with two big Game Two hits. Larry Walker and Edgar Renteria have also been consistent, while Scott Rolen, despite not collecting a single hit, walked six times against L.A.
The NLCS battle will be tougher. Whereas the division series between St. Louis and Los Angeles saw the Cards' lineup make mincemeat out of Dodger pitching, the team will face stiffer rotation work in Houston's Roger Clemens-Roy Oswalt one-two punch.
Both pitchers had leads squandered by the Astro pen in Games Two and Four against Atlanta, and St. Louis will aim to heavily work both pitchers early on to reach the bullpen quickly. Brad Lidge, who notched 29 saves in 33 opportunities during the regular season after becoming Houston's permanent closer, forms a solid back end to a game. But getting to him in close situations could be problematic for the Astros, given the way veteran relievers such as Dan Miceli and Russ Springer have pitched of late.
At the other end of the spectrum, St. Louis has been supported by outstanding bullpen work as well as some solid postseason starting thus far.
Woody Williams and Jeff Suppan, who pitched Sunday's clincher, have done the job. The team will miss Chris Carpenter, the most consistent starter down the stretch, due to injury, and Matt Morris (7 IP, 4 R in Game Three) and Jason Marquis (3.1 IP in Game Two) must step up.
The Cards' six-man relief corps, however, has been lights out. The pen allowed just one run in 11 innings of work, nailing the coffin closed on a Dodger lineup that looked off-balance all series. The Cardinal pen will try to continue that run against Houston. But unlike L.A., Houston enters the Championship Series swinging hot bats - as does St. Louis - so there could be some high scoring games if either team breaks through early.
How exactly Houston reached the postseason at all may still leave many puzzled faces, given the club's midseason collapse resulting in manager Jimmy Williams' firing and Phil Garner's appointment in his place. But a team that wins 36 of its final 46 games to clinch the wild card knows what it takes to get the job done.
The NLCS is a battle of loaded lineups, and the fact that Houston narrowly won the regular season series ten games to eight means nothing now. St. Louis has the postseason experience (fourth postseason appearance in five seasons) and the record this season. Houston has the tenacity and determination.
Both have the offense and depth, and both have been balanced at home and on the road - St. Louis 53-28 at home, 52-29 away, Houston 48-33 and 44-37 home and road, respectively.
Pitching will be key for both teams, but despite Houston sending out Clemens and Oswalt, St. Louis has the edge, particularly in the pen.
The Cardinals will win in six games. After all, if the Boston Red Sox dethrone the New York Yankees, wouldn't a 1967 rematch be fun?
