Clemens shows his mettle, beats Cards

HOUSTON – Missing his most overpowering stuff, 43-year-old Roger Clemens gritted his teeth and pushed his hometown Houston Astros closer to their first World Series.

After all, this is why he put off retirement – twice.

Clemens held the Cardinals in check with six gutsy innings, Mike Lamb homered and Houston held off St. Louis 4-3 Saturday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

“It’s just experience, I guess,” Clemens said. “Sometimes, especially this time of year, you have to will yourself through some innings.”

Brad Lidge finally allowed a run against the Cardinals, but got David Eckstein to fly out with a runner on second to save it. The Astros took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series and need two more wins to reach the Fall Classic for the first time in the franchise’s 44-year history.

“I’ll do whatever we need to do,” Clemens said. “We need to make it happen.”

With two games remaining at Minute Maid Park, Houston can wrap up the series at home. Game 4 is today.

“Roger pitched a Roger game,” Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds said. “They got two great pitching performances and we haven’t been able to score. But if we win (today), we’re even. There’s a lot of games left to play.”

Although Clemens coughed up a 2-0 cushion, his teammates picked him up with a couple of key hits, including Jason Lane’s tiebreaking single in the sixth, as Clemens improved to 12-8 lifetime in the postseason.

And he might be on the mound again: If this year’s series goes the full seven, the Rocket is scheduled to start the final game.

“I was trying to stay extremely tall and violent on the mound, so my stuff was moving well,” said Clemens, bothered by a strained hamstring down the stretch. “Legs feel fine. You know, it was just emptying the tank.”

The banged-up Cardinals, already playing without left fielder Reggie Sanders (sore neck and back), lost third baseman Abraham Nunez to a bruised thigh. He hopes to play today. Nunez only became a regular starter because All-Star Scott Rolen is sidelined following shoulder surgery.

Larry Walker did play, despite an ailing neck, and had a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Eckstein had a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Third-stringer Hector Luna made a key error at third, and the Cardinals dropped their second in a row after taking the opener at home. The home team has won nine of 10 games between the clubs in the last two NLCS.

Clemens’ previous outing was last Sunday, when he came out of the bullpen for his first relief appearance in 21 years and rescued the Astros in the longest postseason game ever played.

The Rocket showed plenty of determination Saturday. Making his 32nd career postseason start, he even singled in his first at-bat.

Clemens struck out only one – matching his lowest total of the season, also against St. Louis on July 17. But he kept the ball down and minimized the damage in the fifth and sixth, allowing six hits and walking two overall.

“He’s unbelievable,” Lamb said.

Chad Qualls pitched two scoreless innings, and Lidge worked the ninth for his second save of the series. He gave up a two-out RBI double to pinch-hitter John Mabry, snapping a string of 31 consecutive scoreless innings against St. Louis dating to 2003.

“I think it just proves he’s human,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “I mean, he’s really, really good, but if you compete against anybody, you have a chance to break through.”

Losing pitcher Matt Morris matched Clemens into the fourth, then gave up Lamb’s two-run homer.