Page "Houston Astros" Paragraph 61

The Astros won the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, 3-1, with a game four that set postseason records for most innings ( 18 ), most players used by a single team ( 23 ), and longest game time ( 5 hours and 50 minutes ).

Trailing by a score of 6-1, Lance Berkman hit an eighth inning grand slam to narrow the score to 6-5.

In the bottom of the ninth, catcher Brad Ausmus, hit a game tying home run that allowed the game to continue in extra innings.

In the bottom of the tenth innning, Luke Scott hit a blast to left field that had home run distance, but was inches foul.

This game remained scoreless for the next eight innings.

In the top of the fifteenth inning, Roger Clemens made only his second career relief appearance, pitching three shutout innings, notably striking out Julio Franco, at the time the oldest man in MLB at 47 years old.

In the bottom of the eighteenth inning, Clemens came to bat again, indicating that he would be pitching in the nineteenth inning, if it came to that.

Clemens struck out, swinging so hard that he injured a rib-cage muscle that would ultimately end the 2005 season for him.

The next batter, Chris Burke, hit a home run to left field for the Astros win, 7-6.

Oddly enough, a fan in the " Crawford Boxes " in left field had previously caught Berkman's grand slam and this same fan caught Burke's home run.

The National League Championship Series featured a rematch of the 2004 NLCS.

The Astros lost the first game in St. Louis, but would win the next three games, with Roy Oswalt getting the win.

Though the Astros were poised to close out the series in Game Five in Houston, Brad Lidge gave up a monstrous two-out three-run home run to Albert Pujols, forcing the series to a sixth game in St. Louis, where the Astros clinched a World Series appearance.

Roy Oswalt was named NLCS MVP, having gone 2-0 with a 1. 29 ERA in the series.

Current honorary NL President William Y. Giles presented the league champion Astros with the Warren C. Giles Trophy.

Warren Giles, William's father and President of the National League from to, had awarded an MLB franchise to the city of Houston in 1960.