Suddenly, Teams’ Fortunes Reverse

You can see it in the joy on Houston right-hander Roger Clemens’ face as he talks about taking the ball today in Game 3 of the National League championship series.

You can hear it in the voice of St. Louis Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa as he tries to find positives in the negative medical news on his battered outfield.

You can sense it in the anticipation of a city that is daring to dream of a pennant flying over its ballpark for the first time.

And you can read it in the front-page headline of Friday’s Houston Chronicle: “Astros Show How They Can Win This Thing.”

As if such a possibility is first dawning on this long-suffering city in particular and much of the baseball world in general.

All this because of a 4-1 victory by Houston in Game 2, which evened this best-of-seven series at one apiece?

Well, yes, because suddenly this series looks different. Different to the Astros, who have been fighting off elimination since May. Different to the Cardinals, who were on cruise control for the second half of the summer.

The Astros were 15-30 after 45 games, won a wild-card berth on the last day of the season and had to go a postseason-record 18 innings to eliminate the Atlanta Braves in their division series.

The Cardinals won 100 regular-season games, had a double-digit lead in their division from mid-August, with the exception of one day, and swept the San Diego Padres in their division series.

But now the Cardinals, tied in this series, the heart of their lineup hurting, must play three games in Houston. And the first face they will see on the mound belongs to a seemingly certain Hall of Famer who would like nothing better than to realize a dream he has had since he was a Houston high school kid.

“I was a fan,” said Clemens. “The Terry Puhls, the Vern Ruhles -- when those [Astros] came out to my high school to work out, they made an impression on me. Being my hometown team, I watched those guys and rooted for them.”

And having rooted for the Astros for so long, the 43-year-old Clemens, more than most on his club, knows how easily this newfound optimism can slip away.

“The opportunity is here,” he said. “We see it and hear it and know that it might not come around again.”

Teammate Craig Biggio knows just what Clemens is talking about. Biggio has been an Astro his entire big league career, which spans 18 seasons, and he’s still waiting to come to bat in a World Series.

“It’s been frustrating,” Biggio said. “We played hard, but it never showed up in the box score.”

La Russa would be satisfied if outfielders Reggie Sanders and Larry Walker showed up today able to play.

Sanders, who has driven in 12 runs in postseason play, has a lower back sprain, the result of falling to the warning track in Game 2 while unsuccessfully trying to catch a drive off the bat of Adam Everett.

“He’s doing better than we expected,” La Russa said of Sanders. “He’s up, he’s moving around and I think we’ve got a chance for him to be in there [today].”

Walker, suffering from the effects of several injuries, has only one hit in 16 playoff at-bats.

“He’s sore,” La Russa said. “What we’re trying to figure out is how sore.... There’s no reason to punish him and punish our club.”

La Russa will get no sympathy from the Astros. They figure they’ve already taken more than their share of punishment over the years.

TODAY’S GAME

CARDINALS’ MATT MORRIS

vs.

ASTROS’ ROGER CLEMENS

Minute Maid Park, 1 p.m., PDT

TV -- Channel 11.

Radio -- 710.

Update -- Each pitcher won a division series-clinching game in his last appearance. Clemens will be working on five days’ rest after throwing three innings of relief to win the 18-inning game against the Atlanta Braves. He held the Braves scoreless on one hit. Morris is coming back after six days’ rest. He went six innings against the San Diego Padres, allowing two runs and five hits. The Cardinals had the league’s best road record (50-31) and won five of the eight games they played in Houston this season. The Astros are 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position in this series.