Struggle Goes On for Bagwell, Biggio

Poor production from Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio were among the main reasons the Houston Astros went 1-6 in their previous two division series.

Bagwell batted .115 without a home run and only four runs batted in during those series, and Biggio batted .130 with one RBI. The Killer Bs also struggled through the first two games against the Braves in this series, batting .143 and .111, respectively.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with those guys,” Houston Manager Larry Dierker said. “The key to them hitting well is for the pitcher to throw them a pitch that they can hit well. For Biggio, of course, also with a pitcher, a guy that he can get a read on and steal a base against.

“I think that the probability is that if they play in enough playoffs that they are going to have a great series. One of them will be an MVP of a series at some point, just from the laws of probability. They will get into a series where a guy makes mistakes and they will be swinging the bat well. I hope that is this series.”

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Ken Caminiti did what he could during the previous postseason for the San Diego Padres.

Unfortunately for Caminiti and the Padres, the power-hitting third baseman couldn’t do much because his damaged body wouldn’t cooperate. Caminiti, wracked by injuries throughout the regular season, was a nonfactor in the World Series as the Padres were swept by the New York Yankees.

Caminiti is feeling good these days, and the Astros are benefiting.

He has been the Astros’ main offensive force during the division series, batting .571 in the first two games with two home runs and four runs batted in. Caminiti had the only hit--a second-inning solo homer--against right-hander Kevin Millwood during the Braves’ 5-1 victory in Game 2.

“It’s been like night and day,” said Caminiti, who rejoined the Astros as a free agent in the off-season. “Last year, I could barely even stand. My legs, back--everything was hurting. There just wasn’t much I could do.

“But I feel like I’ve got my legs under me now. I’m swinging the bat pretty well and I’m throwing OK, so I feel good about that. You just want to keep it going that way.”

Caminiti batted .252 with 29 homers and 82 RBIs last season while sitting out 31 games because of injuries. He played in only 78 games this season, sitting out 79 games because of a leg injury.

But Caminiti finished strong to raise his batting average to .286. The switch-hitter hit 13 homers with 56 RBIs, and he has already made a major playoff contribution.

“I just show up to play and hope I do something good to help the team,” Caminiti said. “Some people get labeled as good postseason players, and some people get labeled as bad postseason players.

“The bottom line is that when you have a lineup like we do, and this was true when I played in the postseason with San Diego and was just coming into my own, they [opposing pitchers] didn’t think I was the guy who was going to beat them.”

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ASTROS’ MIKE HAMPTON

(22-4, 2.90 ERA)

vs.

BRAVES’ TOM GLAVINE

(14-11, 4.12 ERA)

Astrodome, Houston 1 p.m. PDT

TV--ESPN

* Update--The Braves are 40-16 at the Astrodome since beginning their decade-long National League dominance in 1991. Glavine is 8-0 with a 1.35 earned-run average during his last 10 starts here. Not surprisingly, Glavine is disappointed the Astros are moving to Enron Field next season. “Obviously, for selfish reasons I’m disappointed to see it go,” Glavine said of the Astrodome. “I’ve had good success there, and I think most pitchers in baseball have. That’s one of the few parks that you go into now and feel like it’s more of a pitcher’s advantage than a hitter’s advantage. And those ballparks are few and far between now.” Hampton went 13-2 with a 2.49 ERA at the Astrodome this season.