Astros eliminate Braves in 18-inning duel

Down 6-1 in the eighth innning of Game 4 of the National League Divisional Series, it looked like this series would be returning to Atlanta for a deciding game 5.

But then things got magical.

Lance Berkman hit a Grand Slam in the eighth to shrink the lead to 6-5. And then, with 2 outs in the ninth-inning, Brad Ausmus became an unlikely hero by hitting only his 4th Home Run of the season.

That’s when it really got interesting. Manager Phil Garner mixed and matched his 25-man roster, shifting several players from one position to another until finally moving starting catcher Ausmus back behind the plate from first base after using Clemens to pinch-hit for Dan Wheeler in the 15th.

Clemens was literally the Astros’ last line of defense. The only two pitchers remaining were Roy Oswalt, who started and won Game 3 on Saturday, and Andy Pettitte, who was in line to start Game 5.

The game finally ended in the 18th with Chris Burke’s walk-off Home Run. During the regular season, Burke had only hit 5 HRs in 318 at bats.

When it was finally over, second baseman Craig Biggio, right fielder Jason Lane and third baseman Morgan Ensberg were the only Astros to play the entire 18 innings in the positions where they started. Ausmus started behind the plate and moved to first in the 13th when Chavez entered in a double switch with Wheeler.

The Astros now get St. Louis in the NLCS, starting on Wednesday. Last year, the Cardinals edged the ‘Stros by winning the deciding game 7. I’m a lot more optimistic about the ‘Stros chances of getting to the World Series this year.

How good do you think it feels to be Chris Burke this morning?