Astros Beat Cardinals, Win First Pennant


ST. LOUIS - Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte grabbed the champagne, went right for Roy Oswalt and showed the Houston Astros how to celebrate a trip to the World Series. Experts at this from their days with the Yankees, Clemens and Pettitte drenched their fellow ace in a bath of bubbly, pouring one bottle on his head, another down his back.



No wonder the party was so sweet. The Astros never had one like this before.

Houston won its first pennant after 44 seasons, owing it all to Oswalt, who took his team's hopes, dreams and gritty resolve and pitched the Astros past St. Louis 5-1 on Wednesday night.

"It was worth the wait," Clemens said. "This is for the city. This is for our fans at home."

Even with the NL trophy firmly in their grasp, the Astros could hardly believe it.

"It's been a long time, you know. I'm not greedy, I'm not selfish, just wanted to go one time," Craig Biggio said. "I can't tell you how happy I am, it took us a long time and we've got 5 million people in Houston who are very pumped up right now."

His teammate of 15 years, Jeff Bagwell, echoed those sentiments.

"Toward the end of my career, I didn't want an opportunity like this to go by," said Bagwell, a prolific slugger slowed by shoulder injuries the past few years.

Coming off a crushing loss in Game 5 of the NL championship series at home on Albert Pujols' stunning homer, the stubborn Astros refused to be shaken. They jumped to an early lead behind Biggio and Jason Lane, got perhaps a little help from the umpires and watched Oswalt shut down St. Louis for seven innings in earning the series MVP award.

Now that this wild-card team has its first pennant, the Astros will travel to Chicago to take on the AL champion White Sox in the World Series, which begins Saturday night.

Cameras flashed all over Busch Stadium as Dan Wheeler got Yadier Molina on a flyball for the final out. The Astros rushed to the mound to celebrate, bouncing in unison before heading to the clubhouse for a more raucous party.

Houston had been 0-5 with a chance to clinch the NLCS. This time, the Astros wouldn't be denied.

"It's unbelievable, I can't even describe it," Lance Berkman said. "To be a big part of bringing the World Series — the first World Series ever — to Houston is just tremendous."

For St. Louis, the loss marked the end of the season for the team that led the majors with 100 wins. It also was the final game at Busch, scheduled to be demolished to make room for the city's new ballpark.

"It's tough. We had a good year, but I guess it wasn't enough," Pujols said.

After the final out, St. Louis fans stood and applauded, then chanted "Let's Go Cardinals!" The video board played highlights of great Cardinals players and moments.

The Astros won this rematch in six games after losing last year in Game 7 at Busch. Thanks to Oswalt, it didn't go that far this time.

"We absolutely had to have that performance, and he gave it to us," Berkman said.

Clemens did his part — and Pettitte did, too — after both came home to pitch in Houston. The Rocket put off retirement twice, hoping to experience this very moment.

Bagwell, limited to pinch-hitting duty lately following surgery, even delivered a speech to his teammates before the game, imploring them not to give up.

So while the Fall Classic is headed to the Windy City for the first time since 1959, Texas will get its first crack. Folks in the Lone Star State like things big, and it doesn't get any bigger than this in baseball.

"Now, we're going to take a deep breath and see if we can keep this thing going," Clemens said.

In baseball-mad St. Louis, the Busch era ended in bitter disappointment.

Swept by Boston in the 2004 World Series and determined to avenge that defeat, the Cardinals were unable to capture a second consecutive pennant. St. Louis is still waiting for its first World Series championship since 1982.

Born in 1962 as the Colt .45s, the Astros didn't make the playoffs until 1980 and didn't win a postseason series until last year.

Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard and Mike Scott highlighted some stingy pitching staffs that called the mammoth Astrodome home, but they couldn't carry Houston to a pennant.

Not until Pettitte and Clemens signed to join Oswalt in a stellar rotation did the Astros get over the hump.

And on the night it clinched the NLCS, Houston didn't even need to use Brad Lidge, the All-Star closer who gave up Pujols' two-out homer in the ninth inning Monday night that sent the series back to St. Louis.

Oswalt, who also beat Mark Mulder in Game 2 at Busch Stadium, gave up only three hits and struck out six, improving to 4-0 in his postseason career.

By closing it out Wednesday night, the Astros gave themselves a choice of Clemens or Pettitte to start Game 1 of the World Series on full rest.

The Astros became the first team to win a pennant after dropping 15 games under .500 since the 1914 Boston Braves. Now, they'll take aim at something else: becoming the fourth straight wild-card team to win the championship.

"We never gave up on ourselves," Biggio said.

Of course, no game in this postseason would be complete without a disputed call by an umpire.

With the Cardinals trailing 3-0 in the fifth, Yadier Molina thought he eluded shortstop Adam Everett's tag at second, but ump Greg Gibson called him out.

Replays appeared to show that Everett missed the tag, and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa argued briefly to no avail.

"We called it a tag," crew chief Tim McClelland said.

Instead of having the bases loaded with none out, St. Louis had runners at the corners with one out. Pinch-hitter John Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly and Eckstein struck out, ending the inning.

Everett's suicide squeeze made it 4-1 in the sixth. Morgan Ensberg added an RBI single in the seventh.

Mulder's third-inning wild pitch gave Houston the lead, and Biggio's RBI single made it 2-0. Lane homered in the fourth.

"Once we got the early lead, I knew I could go right at them," Oswalt said.

Mulder allowed three runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings.

"I just didn't get it done. There's no way around it," he said.

Notes:@ Bagwell hopes to be Houston's designated hitter in Chicago. ... Astros C Brad Ausmus had three singles, keying two rallies.