2005 National League Championship Series

The 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2005 National League playoffs, matched the Central Division champion and defending league champion St. Louis Cardinals against the wild card qualifier Houston Astros, a rematch of the 2004 NLCS. The Cardinals, by virtue of having the best record in the NL during the 2005 season, had the home-field advantage. The Astros won the series four games to two, and became the National League champions; they faced the American League champion Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series, where the Astros lost to the White Sox in a sweep in four games.

The Cardinals and Astros were victorious in the NL Division Series (NLDS), with the Cardinals defeating the West Division champion San Diego Padres three games to none, and the Astros defeating the East Division champion Atlanta Braves three games to one. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, who won AL pennants with the Oakland Athletics in 1988–89–90 and the NL flag in 2004, fell short in his bid to become the first manager in history to win multiple pennants in both major leagues, although he did so in 2006 and again in 2011. The NLCS also closed with the last game ever played at St. Louis' Busch Stadium (II), which the Cardinals departed after 40 seasons.

Summary

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros

Houston won the series, 4–2.

Game summaries

Game 1

The Cardinals struck first in Game 1 when

Game 2

The Astros struck first in Game 2 when Chris Burke tripled with one out in the second and scored on a passed ball by starter Mark Mulder. In the fifth, Brad Ausmus hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Roy Oswalt's sacrifice bunt and scored on Craig Biggio's ground out. Albert Pujols's leadoff home run off of Oswalt in the sixth put the Cardinals on the board, but they would get nothing more. The Astros scored two insurance runs in the eighth off of Julián Tavárez on Chris Burke's RBI single that scored Lance Berkman from third. followed by Adam Everett's RBI triple. Brad Lidge pitched two shutout innings for the save as the Astros' 4−1 win tied the series at 1−1 heading to Houston.

Game 3

In Game 3, Cardinals' starter Matt Morris pitched three shutout innings before walking Morgan Ensberg to lead off the fourth, then Mike Lamb's home run put the Astros up 2−0. In the fifth, the Astros' Roger Clemens allowed back-to-back leadoff singles to Yadier Molina and Abraham Nunez. Morris's sacrifice bunt moved them up one base each before David Eckstein's sacrifice fly put the Cardinals on the board. Clemens again allowed back-to-back leadoff singles next inning to Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds before Larry Walker's sacrifice fly tied the game. In the bottom of the inning, Lamb hit a one-out double and scored on Jason Lane's single. After Brad Ausmus singled, Brad Thompson relieved Morris and Adam Everett hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Lane to score to put the Astros up 4−2. Chad Qualls pitched two hitless innings before Brad Lidge retired the first two batters in the ninth and walked John Rodriguez. Rodriguez then moved to second on defensive indifference before scoring on John Mabry's double. This is the first run Lidge allowed against the Cardinals since May 29, 2003, but held on for the save to give the Astros a 2–1 series lead. It was Clemens' 12th career postseason win, fifth in League Championship Series games.

Game 4

The Astros struck first in Game 5 on Craig Biggio's RBI single in the second off of starter Chris Carpenter, but the Cardinals loaded the bases on two hits and a walk off of Andy Pettitte when Mark Grudzielanek's two-run single put them up 2–1. Lance Berkman gave excited Astros fans a 4–2 lead with one swing on a pitch from Carpenter in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Astros were one strike away from claiming their first National League pennant and trip to the Fall Classic before David Eckstein singled with no one on base, Jim Edmonds walked, and Albert Pujols hit a dramatic, towering three-run home run off Astros closer Brad Lidge that bounced off the side of the closed Minute Maid Park roof before landing on the railroad tracks in left field, stunning the crowd into silence. The home run gave the Cardinals a 5–4 lead in the top of the ninth inning. Jason Isringhausen retired the Astros in order in the bottom of the inning. The Cardinals guaranteed that another game would be played at historic Busch Stadium (II). The win also broke the Cardinals' seven-game losing streak in road NLCS games. The Astros' series lead was trimmed to 3–2.

Game 6

The Astros were trying to shake off the effects of the loss in Game 5, which was the fifth time in their history that they had lost a close-out game in the NLCS (1980 and 2004 were the other two). At the end of the game, it ended with the Astros having won their first National League pennant in 44 seasons of existence with a decisive 5–1 win over the Cardinals. The Astros scored a run in the third when the Cardinals' Mark Mulder threw a wild pitch to Craig Biggio with runners on second and third, then Biggio's RBI single scored another. Jason Lane's home run in the fourth put them up 3−0. Roy Oswalt pitched seven strong innings, allowing only a sacrifice fly to John Rodriguez in the fifth. The Astros scored one run in the sixth on Adam Everett's sacrifice bunt off of Jason Marquis and another in the seventh on Morgan Ensberg's RBI single off of Julián Tavárez. This was the final game at Busch Stadium (II). This would also be the Astros' last postseason win as a member of the NL, as they would get swept in the World Series, move to the AL in 2013, and would not win another postseason game until the 2015 American League Wild Card Game.

Roy Oswalt was named the series MVP. In two starts, he went 2–0 with a 1.29 ERA in fourteen innings.

Composite box

2005 NLCS (4–2): Houston Astros over St. Louis Cardinals

Aftermath

This series was the unofficial end of the Astros and Cardinals rivalry that developed when the Astros moved to the National League Central in 1994. From 1996 to 2006, either the St. Louis Cardinals or the Houston Astros won the National League Central every year, except for 2003.^[7] Both teams also played each other in dramatic and compelling National League Championship Series in 2004 and 2005.

After the 2006 season, both teams had older rosters, but went in opposite directions. The Astros embarked on a long re-build and eventually moved from the National League to the American League after the 2012 season. To get themselves on the winning track again, the Astros hired Cardinals farm director

The Cardinals would win the World Series in 2006, ending a 24-year title drought, and would also continuously be championship contenders in the subsequent years afterwards by drafting and developing well. The Cardinals 2009 draft, which was overseen by future Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow, saw them take key contributors such as Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly, Matt Carpenter, Trevor Rosenthal, and Matt Adams. Sports Illustrated called their 2009 draft one of the most celebrated drafts in recent memory.^[8] Because of their 2009 draft, the Cardinals never went through a long downturn of bad baseball like the Astros did. They would make five straight postseason appearances from 2011-2015, which included four straight NLCS appearances from 2011 to 2014, and win another World Series in 2011.

On the 2011 Cardinals championship team was former Astros stalwart

While the rivalry on the field cooled off after 2005–2006, and died when the Astros moved to the American League, there was still bad blood between the teams' front offices due to the Astros hiring Jeff Luhnow away from the Cardinals in 2011. A former Luhnow assistant named Chris Correa suspected former co-workers of taking intellectual property developed while with St. Louis with them to their new employer in Houston. Using passwords provided when the ex-employees turned in their Cardinals-issued computers, Correa hacked Houston's internal systems and found what he apparently believed was compelling evidence to support his concern. Correa later testified under oath that he came forward to Cardinals colleagues with his discovery, but the organization chose not to press the matter, with chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. later confirming the Cardinals' decision. Correa, however, continued to access Houston's database and repeatedly gathered information from Houston about players, including scouting reports, medical records and projected bonuses, which he used directly in the execution of his job with the Cardinals. Eventually Correa was caught in 2014 after he tried to anonymously leak the Astros' trade discussions and other confidential information to Deadspin.com in hopes to embarrass his former co-workers.^[9] Instead, in July 2016, Correa was sentenced to 46 months in prison for hacking Houston's database. MLB ordered the Cardinals to pay $2 million in damages to the Astros, and surrender to Houston their two top remaining picks in the 2017 amateur draft, #56 and #75 overall. Correa also received a lifetime ban from baseball.^[10][11]

Notes

External links

• 2005 NLCS at Baseball Reference