Cardinals survive, await Clemens in Game 7

ST. LOUIS -- Jim Edmonds finished what Albert Pujols started for the St. Louis Cardinals.\nEdmonds blasted a two-run homer in the 12th inning and the rejuvenated St. Louis Cardinals forced the NL championship series to Game 7, beating the Houston Astros 6-4 Wednesday to even the series at three games apiece.\n"This what it's all about, right here," Edmonds said.\nNext up for St. Louis: Roger Clemens.\nClemens came out of retirement for the sole purpose of pitching his hometown Astros into their first World Series. Now, he'll get that chance Thursday night when he starts against former Boston teammate Jeff Suppan.\nIt will be will Clemens' fourth career start in a Game 7 -- he's 1-0 in those all-or-nothing outings after getting knocked out early last year in the ALCS for the New York Yankees.\nAfter Jeff Bagwell's two-out single in the ninth off Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen tied it at 4, Edmonds won it with a one-out shot off Dan Miceli.\nThe Astros' Brad Lidge blew away St. Louis for three perfect innings, striking out five before Miceli relieved in the 12th.\n"Of course you want him out of there," Pujols said of Lidge.\nPujols drew a leadoff walk and one out later, Edmonds homered way over the St. Louis bullpen in right field.\nThe Cardinals won a postseason game in extra innings for the first time since the 1964 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Righty Julian Tavarez, pitching with a broken left hand, went two innings for the win.\n"It's my understanding that it's the fingers that are broken as opposed to the hand, so I'm not surprised. He did throw well," Astros manager Phil Garner said.\nGarner picked journeyman Pete Munro to pitch Game 6, rather than going with the Rocket on three days' rest. But Pujols' first-inning homer landed in the Houston bullpen, and pretty soon some relievers were stirring in there, too.\nFor the Cardinals, it will be a chance to make their first World Series in four NLCS trips under manager Tony La Russa. For baseball, it marks the second straight year that both championship series went seven games.\nIsringhausen took a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but immediately put himself in jeopardy by hitting pinch-hitter Morgan Ensberg leading off. A bunt moved Ensberg to second and Craig Biggio hit a fly ball for the second out.\nThat brought up Carlos Beltran, and the Cardinals huddled on the mound. A big cheer broke out in the sellout crowd of 52,144 when catcher Mike Matheny signaled for an intentional walk.\nBut Bagwell foiled the strategy, hitting a hard RBI single on the first pitch. After a double steal, Isringhausen managed to keep it tied by striking out Lance Berkman.\nAfter hitting only .161 in three straight losses at Minute Maid Park, the Cardinals quickly found their stroke at Busch Stadium.\nPujols put St. Louis ahead with his sixth homer of the postseason, a two-run shot, and later added a double and single. He scored twice, and was nailed at the plate another time when he ran through a coach's stop sign.\nBeltran, continuing to build his October resume, hit two balls off the right-field wall and both times was held to a single by right fielder Larry Walker's fast relay. Beltran scored twice, and his 20 runs broke Barry Bonds' postseason record of 18 set in 2002.\nSt. Louis starter Matt Morris hung on for five innings.\nMunro lasted just 2 1-3 innings, half the distance he went for Houston in Game 2. The wild-card Astros hoped to get lucky with a guy who started the season in the minors with Minnesota and won only four games in the majors, but he never gave them a chance.\nMunro was tagged for four runs, with slumping Tony Womack, Edgar Renteria and Reggie Sanders all delivering. Houston's much-maligned middle relievers were effective, although it was too late.\nAfter totaling only four hits Monday -- a record low for any postseason game -- the Astros and Cardinals beat that in the first inning alone. They also scored three times following Houston's 3-0 win in Game 5 on Jeff Kent's ninth-inning homer.