Bats Could Wake Up With Change of Venue

The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros hope Texas will be the swing state in their National League division series after both teams’ bats resembled toothpicks for much of Games 1 and 2 at Atlanta’s Turner Field.

Atlanta stranded 22 baserunners and was two for 19 with runners in scoring position before Rafael Furcal’s 11th-inning homer in Game 2 drove in Charles Thomas from second base to even the best-of-five series at one game apiece.

Houston had its own problems after drilling four homers in Game 1 and two more in the first three innings of Game 2. The Astros collected only two singles the rest of the way and are batting .233 in the series, which resumes this afternoon with Game 3 at Minute Maid Park.

“It’s not just home runs that you need,” said Houston Manager Phil Garner, whose team has scored eight of its 11 runs via homers. “When we can, we like to take advantage [of getting guys on base]. We’ll run. We have hit and run on many occasions down this stretch.

“Our guys are battling. You know what you want to do; sometimes you just can’t get it done.”

Craig Biggio’s epic postseason struggles have actually worsened, with the left fielder’s career playoff batting average dipping from .130 to .129 after he went one for eight in the first two games. Garner replaced Biggio with Jason Lane in the eighth inning of Game 2 with the Astros clinging to a 2-1 lead, though the manager insisted he did so for defensive purposes.

Atlanta’s No. 2-4 hitters, usually a fearsome bunch, are hitting a combined .115 in the series, with Chipper Jones hitless in eight at-bats and J.D. Drew one for eight.

“The nice thing is, it’s a team effort and not an individual effort,” Drew said. “If it was, I’d be in trouble.”

The change of venue should favor the Astros, who averaged 6.2 runs during their franchise-record 18-game home winning streak that began Aug. 23.

“There’s no reason we can’t come out swinging the bats well again,” said right fielder Lance Berkman, who has three of Houston’s 17 postseason hits, including a two-run homer in Game 1.

Another factor that could contribute to an offensive awakening is that the Game 3 starters, Atlanta’s John Thomson and Houston’s Brandon Backe, are in their first postseasons.

Backe is already accustomed to pressure situations. The converted reliever pitched the Astros into the postseason with five strong innings in the team’s regular-season finale against the Colorado Rockies.

“He’s been a big lift for us,” first baseman Jeff Bagwell said of Backe, who was thrust into the rotation in late August after injuries to starters Andy Pettitte and Wade Miller. “Brandon has emerged as our No. 3 starter.”

Backe went 4-2 with a 3.80 earned-run average in nine starts, including a victory Oct. 3 against the Rockies in which he filled in for an ailing Roger Clemens.

“We’re facing a pitcher we haven’t faced before,” said Chipper Jones, who took extra batting practice Friday in an attempt to compensate for a sore right hand that has limited his productivity. “That’s always unnerving.”

Thomson had mixed results this season against the Astros, going 1-1 with a 4.73 ERA in two starts, though he said he was not intimidated by Houston’s home winning streak or a lineup that features Berkman, Bagwell, Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent.

“As they say, streaks are made to be broken, right?” Thomson said. “So that’s what I’m kind of looking for -- just going out there, not worrying about what they’ve done in the past.”