Andy Bags Game One for the Astros

...Taking nothing away from his stellar pitching, but his at-bat in the seventh frame, at the time, appeared as clutch as his performance on the mound. He took an 0-1 pitch from Tim Hudson and lined it to the left-field wall for a ground-rule double, and when Ensberg's line drive found a hole at third, Pettitte scored, giving the Astros a 5-3 lead. It also knocked Hudson out of the game.

"We give Andy a hard time about his hitting," Bagwell said with a grin. "He gets really excited about it and he gets real down on himself when he doesn't get hits -- especially a double the opposite way. That was a huge hit for us at the time."

Said Pettitte: "I know it's shocking. It shocked me, I can promise you that.

"I'm just terrible. I hit so bad, I was like, 'I need a miracle at the plate.' I told Biggio, too, and Biggio said, 'You've got to believe.'"

The game turned into a blowout in the eighth when the Astros scored five runs in merry-go-round fashion. The frame was highlighted by Bagwell's pinch-hit, bases-loaded single to left field off Chris Reitsma, a bases-loaded walk to Ensberg and a two-run single by Orlando Palmeiro.

The Astros sent 11 men to the plate, and the Braves ran through four pitchers before they logged the final out on a Brad Ausmus strikeout.

The Braves threatened in the ninth, scoring two runs before putting runners at first and third with one out. It wasn't until Mike Gallo induced a 4-6-3 double play by Rafael Furcal that the Astros acknowledged their big win over the Braves to take a 1-0 lead in the Division Series.

"I'm sure it's not going to happen all the time, that we score 10 runs," Bagwell said. "Get three hits out of Morgan Ensberg, a bunch of walks, a couple dinkers here and there and we score 10 runs. It's not going to happen all the time, but it's a good start."