ST. LOUIS - The lure of this moment is what made his retirement so short.
A pennant on the line, an adopted city's heart in his hands, a hostile stadium and swarming opponent. Roger Clemens, and a blistering National League Championship Series, have arrived at Game 7.
Barely visible in the glare off Yankee Stadium, the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals now have their own absorbing last act, in a series that has become a hidden classic, after two straight nights ended with game-winning homers.
It has come to that, after the Cardinals pulled even yesterday on Jim Edmonds' 12th-inning homer which gave them a 6-4 victory. This was two days after Jeff Kent had done the same thing for the Astros in Houston.
"How much better does it get?" Edmonds said. "Game 7, against Roger Clemens. I think it's going to be a blast."
The Astros are ready, too.
"We've been here before, we've always come out fighting, we've always found a way," said Houston's Jeff Bagwell, who tied the game in the ninth with a single. "I don't expect anything different."
The Cardinals have had their bats reheated by being at home, and their defense is almost invulnerable with no errors in the postseason. They have the momentum.
And Clemens is left to stop them, with the roar still in his ears from last night, as Edmonds drove an 0-1 Dan Miceli fastball over the right field wall.
That was the gamble Phil Garner took, holding back Clemens yesterday and going with journeyman Pete Munro, who did not last through the third inning.
But maybe the payout comes tonight. The Astros will have a fully rested Clemens for Game 7, against Jeff Suppan. They will need him with all his skill and all his will in a series where location so far has meant everything.
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<NOSCRIPT>
</NOSCRIPT>The visiting team has lost all six games.
But if not for an opportunity such as this, why not fish all summer?
"There's not a better person to have on the mound for us," said injured teammate Andy Pettitte.
It is the second time in history both league championships went the limit. The first time was last October.
Edmonds' blast saved a tense night for the Cardinals, who got 12 hits in the first five innings, but two in the next six. They were shut down by the Houston bullpen, including three innings from closer Brad Lidge.
But October has become a nightmare for Miceli, after a solid season. He walked Albert Pujols and got Scott Rolen on a popup. Edmonds lined his first pitch foul. The next one, Miceli wanted inside. It wasn't.
"Fastball up," he said.
Said Edmonds: "I wasn't trying to go deep. I was trying to hit the ball hard. Thank God for that. We get to play tomorrow."
Added Miceli: "It's tough on me, tough on everybody. But it's baseball. You keep on battling."
St. Louis' Alber Pujols said the Cardinals didn't want to wait until next year.
"There's one game away to get us to the next level," he said.
After the pitching anomaly in Game 5, the hitters seemed to be back in business - at least early, anyway.
By the end of the third inning, the Cardinals had four runs, nine hits and a 4-2 lead, making short work of Munro.
The first two scored on Pujols' homer in the first - the Astros burned for pitching to him with first base open. The next two scored on Edgar Renteria's two-run double in the third.
The Astros tried to keep pace, with Lance Berkman's sacrifice fly in the first, a Bagwell RBI double in the third, a Mike Lamb homer in the fourth.
That left it 4-3. And there it stayed as the bullpens stood tall - except for the ninth inning.
St. Louis closer Jason Isringhausen created his own crisis by hitting pinch-hitter Morgan Ensberg. A sacrifice bunt and fly out later, Ensberg was at second with two out.
The Cardinals intentionally walked Carlos Beltran to get to Bagwell. Not many times a team willingly faces a future Hall of Famer, but Beltran is the hottest hitter in the universe.
"The right move," Bagwell said. "They would have thought (Cardinals manager) Tony (La Russa) was crazy if he didn"t.
But Bagwell lined the first pitch into left field to score Ensberg for a tie at 4. By the 10th inning, Garner had gone through every position player. In the 12th, he had to use Game 5 pitching hero Brandon Backe as a pinch hitter. "It's draining, it's nonstop, every pitch," Bagwell said. "It's been an emotional ride."
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com
A pennant on the line, an adopted city's heart in his hands, a hostile stadium and swarming opponent. Roger Clemens, and a blistering National League Championship Series, have arrived at Game 7.
Barely visible in the glare off Yankee Stadium, the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals now have their own absorbing last act, in a series that has become a hidden classic, after two straight nights ended with game-winning homers.
It has come to that, after the Cardinals pulled even yesterday on Jim Edmonds' 12th-inning homer which gave them a 6-4 victory. This was two days after Jeff Kent had done the same thing for the Astros in Houston.
"How much better does it get?" Edmonds said. "Game 7, against Roger Clemens. I think it's going to be a blast."
The Astros are ready, too.
"We've been here before, we've always come out fighting, we've always found a way," said Houston's Jeff Bagwell, who tied the game in the ninth with a single. "I don't expect anything different."
The Cardinals have had their bats reheated by being at home, and their defense is almost invulnerable with no errors in the postseason. They have the momentum.
And Clemens is left to stop them, with the roar still in his ears from last night, as Edmonds drove an 0-1 Dan Miceli fastball over the right field wall.
That was the gamble Phil Garner took, holding back Clemens yesterday and going with journeyman Pete Munro, who did not last through the third inning.
But maybe the payout comes tonight. The Astros will have a fully rested Clemens for Game 7, against Jeff Suppan. They will need him with all his skill and all his will in a series where location so far has meant everything.
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://banners.tucson.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/news.tucsoncitizen.com/stories/sports/pro@Middle"></SCRIPT>
<NOSCRIPT>
But if not for an opportunity such as this, why not fish all summer?
"There's not a better person to have on the mound for us," said injured teammate Andy Pettitte.
It is the second time in history both league championships went the limit. The first time was last October.
Edmonds' blast saved a tense night for the Cardinals, who got 12 hits in the first five innings, but two in the next six. They were shut down by the Houston bullpen, including three innings from closer Brad Lidge.
But October has become a nightmare for Miceli, after a solid season. He walked Albert Pujols and got Scott Rolen on a popup. Edmonds lined his first pitch foul. The next one, Miceli wanted inside. It wasn't.
"Fastball up," he said.
Said Edmonds: "I wasn't trying to go deep. I was trying to hit the ball hard. Thank God for that. We get to play tomorrow."
Added Miceli: "It's tough on me, tough on everybody. But it's baseball. You keep on battling."
St. Louis' Alber Pujols said the Cardinals didn't want to wait until next year.
"There's one game away to get us to the next level," he said.
After the pitching anomaly in Game 5, the hitters seemed to be back in business - at least early, anyway.
By the end of the third inning, the Cardinals had four runs, nine hits and a 4-2 lead, making short work of Munro.
The first two scored on Pujols' homer in the first - the Astros burned for pitching to him with first base open. The next two scored on Edgar Renteria's two-run double in the third.
The Astros tried to keep pace, with Lance Berkman's sacrifice fly in the first, a Bagwell RBI double in the third, a Mike Lamb homer in the fourth.
That left it 4-3. And there it stayed as the bullpens stood tall - except for the ninth inning.
St. Louis closer Jason Isringhausen created his own crisis by hitting pinch-hitter Morgan Ensberg. A sacrifice bunt and fly out later, Ensberg was at second with two out.
The Cardinals intentionally walked Carlos Beltran to get to Bagwell. Not many times a team willingly faces a future Hall of Famer, but Beltran is the hottest hitter in the universe.
"The right move," Bagwell said. "They would have thought (Cardinals manager) Tony (La Russa) was crazy if he didn"t.
But Bagwell lined the first pitch into left field to score Ensberg for a tie at 4. By the 10th inning, Garner had gone through every position player. In the 12th, he had to use Game 5 pitching hero Brandon Backe as a pinch hitter. "It's draining, it's nonstop, every pitch," Bagwell said. "It's been an emotional ride."
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