Brandon Backe got the start in the biggest game of the Astros 2005 season. He started the game with 2 strikes against David Eckstein. However, 4 pitches later, he walked. Edmonds works the count 2-2, fouls off a couple off speed pitches and lines a one hopper to Biggio; he plays the bounce off his chest and turns the relatively easy dp. Pujols follows, as he has in most atbats this series, with no body on. He turns on a 1-2 inside fastball and poses as the high fly drifts slightly foul. Backe then Ks him on a check swing on a slider away.
In the bottom of the inning, Biggio, first pitch swinging grounds hard to Mabry playing on the line. Burke hangs a liner to left and Berkman grounds to 2nd.
In the 2nd, Sanders works Burke to a 3-2 count on a checked swing at a slider away that bounced in the dirt. Then he Ks looking on a fastball painted down and away. Mabry also Ks on a slider.
The bottom of the 2nd sees the Astros first chance. Ensberg hits his first of two singles. Lamb strikes out swinging at a 2-2 change. Lane, gets a breaking ball in and hits it on the handle dropping the single to left. Runners 1st and 2nd, 1 out. Jeff Suppan grinds the game to the speed of an advancing glacier. Ausmus, possibly overcome by boredom, Ks swinging on a slider away and then Everett ends the inning bouncing to third.
In the bottom of the 3rd, the first sign of unhappiness with Phil Cuzzi?s strike zone surfaces. With 2 outs and Burke on with a walk, Berkman looked at a strike inside and turns to Cuzzi and asks ?was that over the plate?? He eventually works another walk as Suppan threw him 3 balls away. Then Ensberg, looks at a first ball strike down the middle at the knees, takes, then takes an outside braves?strike; adjusting his stance more straight away, he grounds out.
In the 4th, Backe apparently unable to pitch to Eckstein walks him on 4 pitches. Edmonds, hit and run, double off the left field wall but the surprisingly slow Eckstein holds at 3rd. No body out, runners 2nd and 3rd, Pujols is up. Backe throws him a slider low and away, then a fastball on the corner, 0-2. Another corner slider that Pujols barely knicks to spoil strike 3. Another slider away, and Pujols, reaching out with one hand lifts a sac fly to Lane in right. Eckstein scores and the Cardinals take the lead 1-0.
Larry Walker walks on a 3-2 count. Then up comes Reggie Sanders. Backe throws him a fastball away for 1-0. Ausmus, joined by Hickey, goes out to the mound. The next pitch is a slider on the corner 1-1. Now it starts, Sanders steps out, calls time, ump calls time, Sanders steps out, Backe takes a walk around the mound and the camera unwisely focused on his face catches him saying, ?fucking asshole?, clearly referring to the gamesmanship attempted by Sanders. Backe Ks him swinging on a 3-2 slider away.
In the bottom of the 4th, Suppan, shaking off the first pitch selection from Molina, again comes in on Lane. This time he gets the bat head in and rifles one into the Crawford Boxes. Lane busts out of the box and sprints around the bases. The game is tied.
In the top the 6th, Eckstein Ks on a check swing and says to Cuzzi, ?ask!? He doesn?t. Edmonds, getting a short reprieve when Berkman comes up short on his pop foul down the 3b line, strikes out looking. He chirps a little at Cuzzi. Again Pujols, he singles between ss and 3b. Out comes Garner, Backe is shocked. Ashby reports that he ?is not happy? as he enters the dugout. But Gallo comes in and gets Walker to ground out on the first pitch.
In the bottom the 6th Marquis is in, and gives up a single to Ensberg. Ensberg was aggressively first pitch swinging on a thigh high fastball. However the swing was under control and instead of banging it off the fa?ade in left, he drops in a single. Marquis walks Lane, but again Ausmus and Everett are not able to advance the runners.
Qualls comes in for the 7th and overmatches Sanders with fastballs. He eventually pops to 2nd. Mabry and Molina also ground out to Biggio to end the inning.
Bottom the 7th, Palmeiro pinch hitting works a 5 pitch walk. Biggio, presenting a crooked bat, fouls the first bunt attempt. But, on possibly the play of the game, lays down a bunt to the right. Marquis coming in, fails to glove it and the Astros have runners 1st and 2nd no outs. Burke is also tasked to bunt. He squares around late and fouls the first one. Garner takes off the bunt. The next pitch Burke takes a pitch off the corner for a ball. First Marquis, then Molina, and finally La Russa erupt, ?where was that?? They ask. Eventually Burke flies out to left and is shown in the dugout repeatedly slamming his bat into the bat rack.
Berkman walks on 4 pitches. La Russa is bellowing in the dugout. The bases are now loaded. Garner sends Taveras in to run for Palmerio at 3rd. Ensberg up, and he takes a ball up and in. Now, unable to take whatever injustice he perceives, and thinking the pitch a strike, Tony La Russa erupts. He?s tossed while still in the dugout for arguing balls and strikes. Now he crawls out of the dugout and tries to get to the home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi. The hulking crew chief Tim McClelland stops him. McClelland towering over by at least a foot, they crab back and forth, La Russa balls up his little fist and shakes it. His pitcher, standing on the mound, is quickly cooling down. Eventually the little drama ends and La Russa enters the history books as one of the few managers to be thrown out of a post season game, mostly for being such a little twerp.
The play resumes, Ensberg hacks a fly to Edmonds who makes a one hop throw but Taveras has already slid by Molina and is sitting in the dugout by the time the ball reaches home. The Astros have scored the go ahead, and eventual winning run without a hit. 2-1 Astros.
Wheeler starts the 8th. Taveras is in center, Burke is left, and Berkman moves to first. Grudzielanek quickly singles to right. Marquis trying to drag bunt instead of sac, fouls the first attempt. The second bunt attempt he squares, pulls back, and squares again. He doesn?t get his bat in position and pops a short foul to Ausmus. Eckstein flies out on a crisp liner to left center that Burke moves quickly over to get. Then Edmonds comes to bat. On a 2-1 pitch, Wheeler throws a high fastball right over the plate. Edmonds flies out of the box like it was coming at his head. With the count 3-1, Wheeler throws a pitch in the same area, only a little more in and maybe a little lower. Edmonds, again flops, but this time, twists his bat across the plate. Maybe Cuzzi calls the strike, maybe Edmonds swung, maybe it was a ball. But, with the count 3-2, 2 outs, score 2-1 in the 8th, Jim Edmonds chooses this time to lose his lidgin mind. He explodes at Cuzzi. The conversation started well enough with Edmonds getting in the umpires face. However, it is evident Hollywood Jim spat out the ?magic words?. It?s unclear, either ?fucking cocksucker? or ?fucking pussy?. Either way, he?s tossed. His parting words were ?You?re a fucking pussy?. John Rodriguez came in to finish the at bat. He hits a huge long fly, 410 feet, to the left side of the hill. It?s a homerun at Busch stadium, but Willy Taveras ran up the Hill and made the catch.
The Astros got a couple singles in the 9th, but again failed to get a hit with runners on and did not tack on an insurance run.
Lidge came on in the 9th. Pujols takes a 95 mph fastball for a strike, fouls a 97 mph strike, looks at a slider away then lines another slider to right center that drops in front of Taveras for a single. Walker then singles to right past a diving Berkman and the Astros are facing runners 1st and 3rd, no outs. Sanders takes a fastball, then Lidge bounces a couple sliders in the dirt that Ausmus knocks down. Another slider and Sanders rolls it to third. Pujols is breaking on contact and Ensberg throws a strike to get him on a tag at home.
On the play, Walker running all the way from 1st, is able to move into third. Everett looks like he had moved over to cover third. And Ensberg had backed up too. However, Ausmus, after making the tag, ran down the line holding the ball. He didn't throw it. Ensberg protested he had called time, but with Walker running, time could not be called. Again the Cardinals had runners 1st and 3rd with one out. Mabry was as bat. On a 0-2 count, he grounded a weak roller to 2nd. Bruntlett had snuck in for Biggio. He took the hop wheeled in a blur to Everett who came across throwing to a stretching Berkman, 4-6-3. The team erupted, racing towards Everett to hug him for the throw.
Biggest game of the Astros existence tomorrow, Milo says it starts at 6:55. We?ll see. Pettitte will face Carpenter.
