In the league's first championship rematch since 1992, the Cardinals again got the upper hand on their Central Division rival, a team they finished 11 games ahead of. But they have to get by the Astros again for a chance at World Series redemption after their four-game sweep by the Boston Red Sox last year.
The wild-card Astros got off to a poor start before the series even began. While running the bases in batting practice, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte was struck in the leg with a ball.
The Astros insisted the left-hander was fine, but he sure didn't look like a pitcher who was 17-9 with the NL's second-lowest ERA (2.39) during the regular season.
Pettitte exceeded his regular-season ERA before the game was three innings old. Sanders hit his mammoth shot in the first, and St. Louis made it 3-0 in the second on Carpenter's squeeze bunt, a familiar offensive weapon for the small-ball Cardinals.
Sanders, a flop in five previous postseasons, has resembled Reggie Jackson this time around. The 37-year-old outfielder had a homer and 10 RBIs in a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in the opening round, including a division series-record six RBIs in the opener.
He didn't take long to get going in the NLCS. After David Eckstein led off for the Cardinals with a single, Sanders came up with two outs and the runner still at first. Pettitte jumped ahead in the count 1-2, but left the next pitch over the plate. Sanders got all of it, sending a 136m drive that just missed the scoreboard hanging above the auxiliary press box in left field.
As he trotted back to left field in the top of the second, the fans who had just gotten an up-close look at the homer serenaded Sanders with chants of "Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!"
For good measure, Sanders also made a leaping catch against the wall on Mike Lamb to end the sixth. Once again, the crowd erupted in chants of "Reggie!" Fellow outfielders Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker were waiting to congratulate Sanders when he got back to the dugout.
Before this year, Sanders' postseason resume was dismal: 36-for-191 for a .188 average, with five homers and 13 RBIs.
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