=== One-hit wonders by Backe and Kent give Houston NLCS lead ===
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Brandon Backe&#39;s arm and Jeff Kent&#39;s bat have gotten the Houston Astros within a game of where the franchise has never been before - the World Series.
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With one swing of the bat, Lance Berkman revived the Houston Astros' playoff hopes &#151; and gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a much-needed reprieve. Berkman hit a three-run homer off Dustin Hermanson, highlighting a five-run ninth inning that sent Houston to a 7-3 win over San Francisco on Thursday night.
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Jeff Kent's three-run homer in the ninth inning gave Houston a 3-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals Monday to move the Astros within one game of reaching the World Series for the first time in their 43-year history.
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The Houston Astros closed to within   one and a half games of first place in the NL Central when   Craig Biggio's and Andy Pettitte helped guide the team to a 7-4   road win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
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Jeff Kent&#39;s three-run homer in the ninth inning gave Houston a 3-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals Monday to move the Astros within one game of reaching the World Series for the first time in team history.
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Brandon Backe pitched seven innings and clubbed a two-run homer, the first of his major league career, to earn the Houston Astros an 11-5 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Monday.
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Ryan Langerhans hits a three-run homer, Jason Bergmann wins for the first time in more than two months, and the Nationals hold on to edge the Houston Astros, 7-6, Wednesday.
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The Astros have counted Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott and Randy Johnson among their postseason starting pitchers. Though Backe didn&#39;t get the victory in the Astros&#39; 3-0 win over St.
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Josh Anderson had a career-high five hits and drove in three runs, and Houston piled up a season-high 22 hits to help Brandon Backe win for the first time in more than a year, as the Astros routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 15-3 on Sunday.
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An 8-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday have the Houston Astros one win away from ending 43 seasons of playoff failure.
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St. Louis, MO -- Jeff Kent went 2-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Houston Astros over the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-3, in the finale of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.
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Brandon Backe pitches six solid innings in his postseason debut to lead Houston to an 8-5 win over Atlanta on Saturday for a 2-1 series lead.
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HOUSTONâAfter falling behind 0-2 in the NL Championship Series, the best-case scenario for the Houston Astros played itself out this weekend.
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While Roger Clemens continually pitched out of trouble, Brad Ausmus, Lance Berkman, Carlos Beltran and Jason Lane homered for the Houston Astros to lead a 9-3 rout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of their NL division series Wednesday.
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ATLANTA - The Houston Astros zeroed in on their first playoff series victory Monday night, surging to a 9-3 lead over the Atlanta Braves after seven innings of their NL Division Series and moving to the brink of the NLCS.    Jeff Kent's two-out RBI single, which followed Jeff Bagwell's high, arcing two-run home run to left, capped a five-run seventh for the Astros, who have lost all seven postseason series they've played...
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St. Louis - They trudged off the field at Minute Maid Park wearing glazed expressions, looking anywhere but home plate. That&#39;s where Jeff Kent was celebrating a victory that left the Houston Astros one win from their first World Series.
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The Chicago Cubs know they can't waste too many more chances like this. Luke Scott tripled home the winning run in the 11th inning and the Houston Astros dropped the visiting Cubs out of a tie for the NL Central lead, beating Chicago, 5-4, last night.