ATLANTA -- The Killer B's didn't have to go it alone. Roger Clemens and the powerful Houston lineup made sure the Astros got off to a good start in their quest to finally win a playoff series.\nWhile Clemens continually pitched out of trouble, Brad Ausmus, Lance Berkman, Carlos Beltran and Jason Lane hit homeruns for the Astros to lead a 9-3 rout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of their NL division series Wednesday.\nThe Astros set a franchise record for runs in a postseason game. They twice scored seven while losing to Philadelphia in the 1980 National League Championship Series -- the first of their seven straight playoff series losses.\nHouston dropped three of its last four postseason series to the Braves, most recently in 2001. Much of the blame fell on Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell -- the heart of the "Killer B's" for more than a decade.\nBagwell finally came through with his first postseason extra-base hit, an RBI double that put the Astros ahead for good in the third inning. But he and Biggio played a secondary role in beating the NL East champion Braves, who hardly looked like a team that won its 13th straight division title.\nThe Astros carried over their momentum from the regular season, which they closed by winning 36 of 46 games to claim an improbable wild card.\nGame 2 is Thursday at Turner Field, with Houston sending 20-game winner Roy Oswalt to the mound against former Astro Mike Hampton. If the visitors win again, they'll have two chances to wrap up the series at Minute Maid Park, where Houston has an 18-game winning streak.\nAusmus led off the third with the first of Houston's three homers off Jaret Wright, tying the score at 1. Bagwell's RBI double was followed by Berkman's two-run homer into the Braves' bullpen for a 4-1 lead.\nClemens showed the effects of a stomach virus that knocked him out of his last start of the regular season. The Hall of Famer-to-be walked six -- all in the first four innings and the most he's given up in a game since 1998.\nBut Clemens also displayed plenty of grit in winning a Game 1 start for the first time in his postseason career. The Braves stranded nine runners in the first four innings.\nClemens lasted seven, throwing 117 pitches, giving up two earned runs and striking out seven. Not bad for a 42-year-old who briefly retired after last season, but came back to help the hometown Astros reach their first World Series.\nClemens walked the bases loaded in the third, but escaped by making Charles Thomas look foolish. The rookie flailed at a pitch far out of the strike zone, then took a called third strike over the inside corner.
Yankees 7, Twins 6\nNEW YORK - The New York Yankees waited all season for that huge hit from Alex Rodriguez.\nBoy, did he deliver just in time.\nRodriguez hit a tying double in the 12th inning, then Derek Jeter dashed home on Hideki Matsui's sacrifice fly and the Yankees bailed out Mariano Rivera with another improbable postseason comeback, beating Minnesota 7-6 Wednesday night to even their series at a game apiece.\nThe Yankees responded with a championship-caliber rally after falling behind in the 12th on Torii Hunter's home run.\nCorey Koskie keyed an eighth-inning rally with a tying double against Rivera, who blew a save in the postseason for only the third time in 33 chances.
