HOUSTON (AP) -- Only when Brandon Backe and Woody Williams were

done did the hitters have any chance.

That's when Jeff Kent stepped up and put the Houston Astros only

one win away from the World Series.

Pitching suddenly took over these playoffs Monday night, when

Backe and Williams hooked up in one of the greatest October duels --

only four hits in all, the fewest ever in a postseason game. Kent

ended it, launching a three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift

the Astros over St. Louis 3-0 for a 3-2 edge in the NL Championship

Series.

Each team had only one single until the final inning.

"He was on tonight, just like I was," Backe said. "When you

feel as good as I did out there and felt in the rhythm that I was

in, you just feel like nobody can hit you."

Neither team's sluggers did anything until Carlos Beltran -- who

else? -- led off the ninth with a single. Moments later, Kent

hammered a ball off the limestone facade in left field.

Kent flipped his bat after he connected, tossed off his helmet

as he headed home and said, "One more, one more."

He was right. Because after the Astros' third straight win, one

more victory will put them in the World Series for the first time

ever.

Game 6 will be back in St. Louis on Wednesday, with Matt Morris

starting for St. Louis. Roger Clemens may pitch on three days' rest

for the Astros -- manager Phil Garner said he will announce his

choice on Tuesday's off-day.

"It was really a well-played game, well-pitched game,"

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "Brutal ending."

Too bad not a whole lot of people may have seen it. Most

baseball fans in the country got the Yankees-Boston game in the

ALCS, and surely some people in St. Louis watched the Rams-Tampa

Bay NFL matchup.

It was even until Beltran singled off Jason Isringhausen in the

ninth and stole second with one out, prompting an intentional walk

to Lance Berkman. Kent was up next.

"We've been struggling to get offense all day, both teams,"

Kent said. "Both teams know how to hit, the pitching just shut us

down all day long. To finally come up with a hit is big."

Backe, who started the season in the minors, allowed one single

in eight innings and Brad Lidge worked a perfect ninth for a

combined one-hitter.

"I just got into a rhythm, a groove," Backe said. "I had

really good command."

Williams matched him for seven innings, allowing Jeff Bagwell's

single in the first. Both starters struck out four and walked two

in a rematch of Game 1, won by Williams.

"I just know I put up seven zeros, but I got outmatched,"

Williams said.

Lidge pitched for the third straight day, adding a win to his

two saves in the series. Isringhausen relieved in the eighth, and

wound up with the loss.

"I knew it was out when it left the bat," Isringhausen said.

Beltran's record streak of homering in five straight postseason

games ended, though he gave it a ride in his first at-bat. But he

showed off all his other attributes, including two outstanding

catches.

Sluggers ruled the first four games, combining for 19 homers.

Backe put a stop to the Cardinals' fun, limiting them to Tony Womack's two-out single in the sixth.

The Astros won for the 22nd time in their last 23 home games.

Fans simply didn't want to leave Minute Maid Park at the end,

hanging around inside to celebrate.

While pitching dominated, Beltran provided the highlights until

Kent's third homer of the NLCS.

The All-Star center fielder and soon-to-be-free agent made the

play of the game with two outs and no one in the seventh, racing to

his right for a diving, backhanded catch to rob Edgar Renteria.

Beltran raised his glove, left fielder Craig Biggio lifted his

mitt and Backe punched the air. To a standing ovation, Beltran

casually trotted to the dugout and flipped the ball into the seats.

In the eighth, Beltran ran back and halfway up the quirky hill

in dead center to haul in Reggie Sanders' shot in front of the

in-play flag pole, about 420 feet from the plate.

About the only thing Beltran did not do was hit another home

run. He made a bid for it, hitting a long fly ball to left that

Sanders caught on the warning track.

Backe and Williams both looked far from overpowering, mainly

relying on breaking balls to get outs. Even so, they were virtually

unhittable.

Backe, a former schoolboy football star in Texas and an

outfielder in the Tampa Bay system, bamboozled the Cardinals from

the start. He set down the first 13 batters before walking Jim

Edmonds in the fifth, and did not allow a hit until Womack pulled a

single past diving first baseman Bagwell.

After Larry Walker walked, Backe faced his first jam when Albert

Pujols stepped to the plate. That brought pitching coach Jim Hickey

to the mound, and he'd just gotten back to the dugout when Pujols

popped up to end the inning.

The final out brought a roar from the crowd and chants of

"Back-e! Back-e!" His father, Harold, was so fired up he charged

over from his seat and gave a loud high-five to the ballpark

public-address announcer.

"It was a strong, almost miracle performance from a guy who was

born to do this," his dad said.

Not bad for a guy who won only five games in the majors this

season.

"He pitched a great game, it doesn't surprise me," Beltran

said.

Williams, meanwhile, quietly and efficiently went about his

business in front of a sizable cheering section. Born and raised in

Houston, he'd gotten more than 50 tickets for family and friends

when the NLCS returned to town.

Game notes

A pitch from Williams nicked Morgan Ensberg's helmet in the

fourth. It was merely a glancing blow, and Ensberg took his base

without any trouble.