Houston – Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros gave a whole new meaning to the word “longevity.”
The 43-year-old Rocket came out of the bullpen to rescue the Astros, and Chris Burke ended the longest postseason game in baseball history with a home run in the 18th inning, lifting Houston over the Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Sunday and into the NL Championship Series.
“I’m sure proud of the guys,” Clemens said. “It’s been a lot of work for us. How ’bout the kid?”
Standing next to Clemens, Burke, 25, was beaming.
“I’m just glad I could do my part,” Burke said. “It was draining, mentally draining.”
The Braves took a five-run lead into the eighth and were poised to send this first-round series back to Atlanta for a decisive Game 5 tonight. Instead, Lance Berkman hit a grand slam in the eighth and Brad Ausmus tied Game 4 with a two-out homer in the ninth barely beyond Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones’ outstretched glove.
Then, at 6-6, the Braves and Astros began the real endurance test that wound up lasting 5 hours, 50 minutes. The previous longest postseason game also occurred in Houston – the New York Mets clinched the 1986 NLCS with a 16-inning win at the Astrodome.
When Burke hit the homer, Clemens was in the dugout tunnel with Craig Biggio, the 39-year-old second baseman who has spent his entire career in Houston.
“We were like two tired old men walking out of the tunnel, and then we were like two kids having a good time,” Clemens said. “We were holding each other up.”
With Clemens pitching three scoreless innings in his first relief appearance since 1984 – and this time atoning for a poor start in Game 2 – the Astros advanced to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS starting Wednesday at Busch Stadium.
Clemens gave up one hit and struck out four, setting up the first NLCS rematch since Pittsburgh and Atlanta played in 1991-92.
Last October, the Cardinals beat Clemens in Game 7, denying the Astros their first World Series appearance.
And it was another early October exit for the Braves, who have won an 14 straight division titles but have one World Series crown to show for it. The Astros eliminated Atlanta last year.
“It never feels good, but I’ve had a couple of heartbreakers where I could have won the game, but instead ended the season,” Chipper Jones said. “You learn from that.”
The Braves wasted an early grand slam by Adam LaRoche. Berkman’s shot made this the first postseason game with two slams.
Burke entered the game in the 10th inning as a pinch runner. He came up with one out in the 18th against rookie Joey Devine and launched a drive over the left-field wall.
“It was kind of a microcosm of our season,” Burke said. “Started out slow, finished strong.”
Make it a twofer
Highlights from Sunday’s marathon:
* Sunday’s 18-inning game bested the previous longest playoff game by two innings. The New York Mets defeated Houston 7-6 in an NLCS game on Oct. 15, 1986.
* Houston’s Chris Burke, who hit the winner in the bottom of the 18th inning, became only the sixth player to end a playoff series with a home run.
* Pitcher Roger Clemens got the win on three innings of work and moved into a tie for fourth place for most postseason wins. Atlanta’s John Smoltz tops the list with 15, Houston’s Andy Pettitte has 14, Mets pitcher Tom Glavine has 12 and Clemens is tied with the Cubs’ Greg Maddux with 11.
* Atlanta’s Adam LaRoche and Houston’s Lance Berkman became only the 14th and 15th players to hit grand slams in NL playoff history; it’s the first time two grand slams were hit in the same game.
