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          Clemens denied 19th win, but Astros pass Cubs

          Sep 30, 2004

            HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Astros can put themselves in the
            playoffs. They no longer need help from anyone else.

            Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent and the Astros took over the NL
            wild-card lead Wednesday night, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4
            for their club-record 15th straight home victory.

            Houston moved a half-game ahead of the slumping Chicago Cubs,
            who lost to Cincinnati, and the San Francisco Giants, who fell in
            San Diego.

            "We've certainly made it interesting for everybody," Clemens
            said. "We'll take where we are right now and hope it's enough to
            get us in the playoffs."

            Jeff Bagwell drove in two runs for the Astros and Kent hit his
            300th career homer. Clemens was denied his 19th win -- and almost
            certainly a chance at his seventh 20-win season -- when he left with
            the score tied at 4 after the sixth. It was his worst outing in
            three weeks.

            But Bagwell had a run-scoring single in the seventh and Lance
            Berkman followed with an RBI double to help the Astros eclipse
            their best home winning streak set in 1980 at the Astrodome.

            "It's an electric atmosphere here right now," closer Brad
            Lidge said. "The fans are as loud as I've ever heard them."

            Chad Qualls (4-0) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win, Dan
            Miceli struck out the side in the eighth and Lidge got three outs
            for his 27th save in 31 chances.

            The Rocket got off to a strong start, retiring the first 10
            batters before So Taguchi singled in the fourth.

            Roger Cedeno followed with a double to the scoreboard in deep
            left, driving in Taguchi. Cedeno went to third on the throw and
            scored on Jose Vizcaino's throwing error to give St. Louis a 2-1
            lead.

            Scott Rolen, who returned from an injured calf a night before,
            added a two-run shot in the fifth to tie the game at 4. The homer,
            Rolen's 34th of the season, nearly went out of the park, hitting
            the train tracks atop the wall in left-center.

            "We were able to get a couple of things going," Rolen said.
            Clemens "gave us some chances and we weren't able to capitalize."

            Clemens left the game after Jim Edmonds flied out to center to
            end the inning. He isn't scheduled to make another start before the
            end of the regular season, but has suggested he'd like to pitch in
            the regular-season finale against Colorado on Sunday.

            "I'll be ready to start or do whatever we need me to do,"
            Clemens said.

            Kent became the 105th player to reach 300 homers with his
            second-inning shot off Jeff Suppan. The four-time All-Star joined
            Tino Martinez, Edgar Martinez, Chipper Jones, Ruben Sierra, Edmonds
            and Vinny Castilla in reaching that mark this season.

            Morgan Ensberg's two-run homer in the fourth was almost stopped
            by Taguchi, who stuck his glove in the air but just missed the ball
            as it bounced off the wall and into the right-field seats. Ensberg,
            who hit only his ninth home run of the season, pumped his fist and
            let out a yell as he rounded the bases.

            Bagwell's RBI double in the fifth gave Houston a 5-4 lead it
            wouldn't relinquish.

            "They have some momentum going," Suppan said. "It was hard to
            shut them down because they kept fighting back."

            Suppan (16-9) went seven innings, allowing six runs on nine hits
            in his first road loss of the year. The right-hander struck out
            four and walked one.

            Suppan was 10-0 in 13 road starts before Wednesday's game,
            hoping to join Jimmy Key in 1994 and Greg Maddux in '95 as the only
            pitchers to go undefeated in a season on the road.

            Hours before the game, many Astros gathered around a large TV to
            watch the final innings of the Reds-Cubs game. When Cincinnati's
            Austin Kearns tied the game with a two-out double in the ninth, the
            Astros' clubhouse erupted with cheers and whoops.

            "That pumped us up big-time," Lidge said. "Everyone was
            thinking, this is it. This is a fantastic opportunity to go up on
            them."

            Houston is off Thursday, then concludes its season at Minute
            Maid Park with a three-game series against the Rockies.

            The Cardinals, who clinched the NL Central last weekend, were
            handed their first three-game sweep since June 28-30 at
            Pittsburgh.

            Game notes
            The Cardinals gave 1B Albert Pujols the night off. John
            Mabry replaced him in the lineup. ... Houston's Carlos Beltran
            stole his career-high 42nd base of the season in the third. He
            needs only two more homers to become the fourth player in major
            league history with a 40-40 season. ... Nolan Ryan watched the game
            from the second row behind home plate.