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St. Louis (100-62) at Houston (89-73)
SERIES: NL Championship Series; Astros, 2-1.
Jeff Suppan was the St. Louis Cardinals' best starter in the final month of the regular season. They desperately need him to continue that run in his 2005 postseason debut.
Suppan and the Cardinals will try to even the NLCS at two games apiece when they take on the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Despite finishing with the best record in the majors, the Cardinals find themselves trailing in this series thanks to a 4-3 loss in Game 3 on Saturday.
Roger Clemens held the Cardinals in check with six gritty innings, Mike Lamb homered and Brad Lidge allowed a run in the ninth before getting David Eckstein to fly out with a man on second.
With two games left at Minute Maid Park, the Astros could wrap up this series at home and advance to the World Series for the first time in the franchise's 44-year history. The home team has won nine of 10 games between the teams in the last two NLCS meetings.
Standing in the way of Houston taking a commanding 3-1 lead is Suppan, who despite going 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in five starts in September, did not make an appearance in the Cardinals' first-round sweep of San Diego.
Suppan faced the Astros seven times last year, including two matchups against Clemens in the NLCS, but this start will be his first against Houston this season. His last appearance against anybody came on Sept. 25, when he pitched eight shutout innings against Milwaukee.
Because of the extended layoff, Suppan said he exerted himself more in recent bullpen sessions, and tried to stay mentally sharp by visualizing himself on the mound. Plus, he can draw on last postseason, when he pitched the clincher in the first round on 10 days' rest and then beat Clemens to win the pennant.
``The more times you're in those situations, that experience is going to benefit you,'' Suppan said. ``It helps you focus.''
Becoming a growing concern for the Cardinals are injuries to several key players.
St. Louis played Saturday without left fielder Reggie Sanders, lost third baseman Abraham Nunez to a left knee injury and right fielder Larry Walker played despite an ailing neck.
``Our lineup has been thin all year,'' center fielder Jim Edmonds said. ``We just need to win a game and we won't be worried anymore.''
Nunez, a regular starter because All-Star Scott Rolen is sidelined following shoulder surgery, collided with Houston's Jason Lane while catching a throw from Walker in the sixth inning and limped off the field. Hector Luna replaced Nunez and committed a key error in the sixth inning that allowed Houston to extend its lead to 4-2.
``Right now it's kind of tight but hopefully I can get it loosened up a little bit and probably be able to play,'' Nunez said. ``After I cooled down a little bit and they put ice on it I was able to start walking around, so it's getting a little better.''
The loss of Sanders has been particularly hard on the Cardinals because he led all players this postseason with 12 RBIs. So Taguchi went 0-for-4 in his place Saturday.
Sanders was hopeful Saturday that he'd be able to play with another day of rest. Then again, he had been confident he would be in the lineup for Game 3, too, before pain medication apparently wore off.
``Yesterday I felt pretty good, but then I forgot I was on drugs,'' Sanders said. ``I got off the drugs last night and wasn't as good as I thought I was going to be. So, we just have to wait.''
Hoping to follow strong performances by teammates Roy Oswalt and Clemens the past two games, Brandon Backe will take the ball for Houston on Sunday.
This will be Backe's third appearance and second start this postseason. He pitched one scoreless inning of relief in Game 2 against Atlanta in the first round, and allowed five runs, five hits and three walks over 4 1-3 innings in Houston's 7-6, 18-inning victory in Game 4 that sent the Astros to the NLCS.
Although he doesn't have the name recognition of Clemens, Oswalt or Andy Pettitte, Backe has already proven he won't be bothered by pitching in the playoffs.
He pitched eight innings of one-hit ball in a 3-0 win over the Cardinals in Game 5 of the 2004 NLCS that put Houston up 3-2. Backe went 5 2-3 innings before yielding a hit, the longest to begin a game in NLCS history.
``The success that I had alone in the playoffs last year helps me relax,'' Backe said. ``Helps me just basically know that I'm not going to let the playoff atmosphere affect me in any way because I've been through it before and I've also succeeded.''
Houston manager Phil Garner is banking on the 2004 experience helping Backe as well.
``He pitched very, very well in some of the most tense situations that you can ever be in,'' Garner said. ``And he can go back and say 'This is the way I did it. I don't have to fool anybody. I can trust my stuff.'''
Game 5 is Monday at Houston.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Cardinals - NL Central champions; beat San Diego Padres 3-0, division series. Astros - NL wild-card winners; beat Atlanta Braves 3-1, division series.
PROJECTED LINEUPS: Cardinals - SS Eckstein (.294, 8 HRs, 61 RBIs, 11 SBs), CF Edmonds (.263, 29, 89), 1B Albert Pujols (.330, 41, 117, 16 SBs), RF Walker (.289, 15, 52 in 100 games), LF Sanders (.271, 21, 54 in 93 games) or Taguchi (.288, 8, 53), 2B Mark Grudzielanek (.294, 8, 59), C Yadier Molina (.252, 8, 49), 3B Nunez (.285, 5, 44) or Luna (.285, 1, 18). Astros - 2B Craig Biggio (.264, 26, 69, 17 HBP), CF Willy Taveras (.291, 3, 29, 71 infield hits, 34 SBs), 3B Morgan Ensberg (.283, 36, 101), 1B or LF Lance Berkman (.293, 24, 82, 91 walks), RF Lane (.267, 26, 78), LF Chris Burke (.248, 5, 26) or 1B Lamb (.236, 12, 53), SS Adam Everett (.248, 11, 54), C Brad Ausmus (.258, 3, 47).
CARDINALS PROBABLE STARTING PITCHER: Suppan (16-10, 3.57 ERA). The right-hander quietly put together a solid regular season, tying Mark Mulder for second on the Cardinals with 16 wins. Suppan was effective on the road this season, going 9-5 with a 3.78 in 16 starts. He is 2-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 10 career games against Houston.
ASTROS PROBABLE STARTING PITCHER: Backe (10-8, 4.76 ERA). Backe's last regular-season start came against the Cardinals on Sept. 28. He was reached for five runs and seven hits over 4 1-3 innings, but the Astros won on to a 7-6 victory. He was hit hard in three appearances this season against St. Louis, yielding 13 runs and 21 hits over 11 1-3 innings. Backe was far better at home than on the road this season, going 6-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 11 games, including 10 starts, at Minute Maid Park.
REGULAR SEASON SERIES: Cardinals, 11-5.
STREAKS AND NOTES: Cardinals - 1B Pujols has hit in all 15 career NLCS games. ... SS Eckstein and 2B Grudzielanek are a combined 8-for-14 against Backe. ... RF Walker is 1-for-18 with one RBI this postseason. He is 3-for-7 with a homer in his career against Backe. Astros - SS Joe Vizcaino is 13-for-21 (.619) with four doubles in his career against Suppan. ... 1B Lamb is batting .429 (6-for-14) this postseason with hits in all four games in which he's appeared. ... RHP Lidge had thrown 31 scoreless innings against the Cardinals since Sept. 4, 2003, before John Mabry's RBI double in the ninth inning Saturday.
POSTSEASON ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Cardinals - 1-1 on the road. Astros - 3-0 at home.[/b][/quote]
I know we will win this - no worries whatsoever...
And I'm staking my 2-0 record in the regular season on it...
Go Suppan!!! Go Cardinals!!!
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