ST. LOUIS -- On this wild night of celebration, the Houston
Astros owed it all to Roy Oswalt.
He took their dreams, hopes and gritty resolve and pitched his
teammates into their first World Series, beating the St. Louis
Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday night with help from Craig Biggio.
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 NL pennant in its
44-season history, the Astros will travel to Chicago 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 to fly out and end the game. The Astros rushed to the mound
to celebrate, bouncing in unison before heading to the clubhouse.
Houston had been 0-5 when given the chance to clinch the NLCS.
This time, the Astros would not be denied.
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 for demolition to make room for the city's new
ballpark.
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 at Busch Stadium, featuring
Ozzie Smith, Mark McGwire and even broadcaster Jack Buck.
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 -- still waiting for
their first World Series championship since 1982 -- were unable to
capture a second consecutive pennant.
The Astros won this rematch in six games after losing last year
in Game 7 at Busch Stadium.
Thanks to Oswalt, it didn't go that far this time: 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.
Roger Clemens did his part, Andy Pettitte did, too -- and Astros
stalwarts Biggio and Jeff Bagwell finally fulfilled their delicious
dream of winning a pennant together.
By closing it out Wednesday night, the Astros gave themselves a
choice of Clemens or Pettitte to start Game 1 of the World Series,
as Houston tries to become the fourth straight wild-card team to
win the championship.
So while the Fall Classic is headed to the Windy City for the
first time since 1959, Texas will get its first crack ever. Folks
in the Lone Star State like things big, and it doesn't get any
bigger than this in baseball.
Get ready for "Deep in the Heart of Texas" during the
seventh-inning stretch.