Overview

In February 2005, longtime Astros players Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio were jointly inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.^[1]

Transactions

• January 7, 2005: Adam Riggs was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[2]
• January 7, 2005: Turk Wendell was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[3]
• January 23, 2005: John Franco signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[4]
• February 11, 2005: Trenidad Hubbard was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[5]

Overview

After starting the season with a 15–30 won–loss record, the Astros improved to 74–43 over their final 117 games to capture the NL wild card.^[6]

Bagwell hit his last major league home run against Greg Maddux on April 29, tying him for the most against any pitcher with seven.^[7]

Standings

Transactions

• April 9, 2005: Brooks Kieschnick was signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.^[8]
• April 27, 2005: Trenidad Hubbard was released by the Houston Astros.^[5]

Roster

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Source:

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Source:

Lone Star series

The annual interleague games between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers were played in June and July. They are known as the Lone Star Series.

Regular season

Postseason log

National League Divisional Playoffs

The Astros faced a rematch in the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series. This was the fifth time the two teams had met in the postseason (1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005), and the Astros were looking to add on reaching the second round of the postseason in back-to-back years; the two teams had met for six games in the regular season, for which Houston won only once. In Game 1 in Atlanta, the Astros struck first on a Morgan Ensberg RBI single, but Chipper Jones tied the game as the first inning ended. Ensberg gave the Astros the lead again on a bases-loaded single made it 3–1. Craig Biggio hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Brad Ausmus to make it 4–1 in the fourth, but Andruw Jones cut into the lead with a two-run shot to make it 4–3. Enberg struck again in the seventh with a RBI hit to drive in Andy Pettitte after he had hit a double. The Astros finally broke the game all the way through in the eighth, scoring five runs on the bases of four hits, three walks, and a wild pitch. The Astros prevailed in Game 1 by a score of 10–5. Despite having Roger Clemens on the mound for Game 2, he was outmatched by John Smoltz, who allowed just one run while the Braves used the efforts of rookie Brian McCann (who hit a three-run shot in the second) to win 7–1.

Back in Houston for Game 3, the Astros struck first again by the efforts of Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane, who made it 2-0 after one inning. McCann and pitcher Jorge Sosa tied the game on hits with two out in the next inning, but Mike Lamb would hit a home run in the third inning to make it 3–2. In the seventh, the Astros took advantage of Chris Reitsma (and others) on the mound, scoring four runs in the inning after hits by Lance Berkman, Ensberg and Lane went with a sacrifice fly by Adam Everett; the Astros prevailed 7–3. Game 4 proved to be a classic for the ages despite its initial misgivings for Houston. Adam LaRoche hit a grand slam off Brandon Backe to make it 4–0 in the third inning. The Braves added another run in the fifth that was matched by Houston, but the Braves scored in the top of the eighth inning with a McCann home run off Wandy Rodríguez to make it 6–1. However, the Astros would strike back, doing so when Lance Berkman hit a grand slam off Kyle Farnsworth to make it 6–5. Then, in the ninth inning with two out, Brad Ausmus stepped up to the plate against Farnsworth and proceeded to hit a home run, tying the game at six that sent it to extra innings. The two teams traded zeroes for the next eight innings while setting a record for the longest postseason game in MLB history; Roger Clemens pitched three innings of relief due to a lack of relievers. In the bottom of the 18th, with Joey Devine on the mound for Atlanta, Chris Burke would line a shot to left field that cleared the scoreboard for a walk-off home run. This was the second postseason series victory for the Astros, and it sent them back to the National League Championship Series.

National League Championship Series

The opponent for the Astros in the Championship Series was a familiar foe: the St. Louis Cardinals, their rival in the National League Central. They had previously matched up against each other in the previous NLCS, which saw the Astros lose in seven games, needing only one more win to reach the Series. The Cardinals had won 100 games and had beaten Houston in eleven of sixteen games this season (worst among their division foes) Game 1 was controlled by St. Louis from the jump. Reggie Sanders hit a two-out homerun with David Eckstein on base to make it 2–0. A sacrifice bunt by the pitcher drove in a third run in the second inning. Eckstein drove a run in with a single while Albert Pujols capped the scoring for the Cardinals with a single. The only scoring for Houston came late, as Chris Burke hit a two-run shot off the bullpen to make it 5–2 in the seventh before Brad Ausmus hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5–3, but reliever Jason Isringhausen finished the Astros off with no further damage. This was the fifth straight loss for the Astros in a postseason game played in St. Louis. Game 2 proved a different story. Burke lined a tripe with one out and then scored later when Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder threw a ball past the catcher. Brad Ausmus lined a double in the fifth inning and then was driven home on a bunt and ground out to make it 2–0. Albert Pujols lined a home run to start the sixth inning, but the Cardinals were out-hit 11-6 and scored no more; Burke and Adam Everett would lend a hand with RBI hits to even the series at one.

In Game 3 back in Houston, Mike Lamb hit a two-run shot off Matt Morris to give them a 2–0 lead in the fourth inning. Roger Clemens would allow back-to-back hits in the fifth and sixth inning that saw the Cardinals score a run each to tie the game. However, in the sixth inning, Lamb hit a double that set him up to score when Jason Lane hit a single. A further single lead to Adam Everett at the plate, who hit into a fielder's choice that made it 4–2. While the Cardinals scored a run in the ninth inning on an RBI double, they could not crack Brad Lidge (who until this game had allowed no runs against St. Louis since May 2003) as Houston now led the Series. Game 4 was a tight affair that saw the bullpens flicker more than the offense, which saw eleven combined hits lead to three runs. Pujols gave the Cardinals the lead on a sacrifice fly in the 4th, but Jason Lane hit a home run off Jeff Suppan to tie it. In the seventh inning, the Astros had the bases loaded with less than two outs. With Morgan Ensberg at the plate, he hit a flyout that gave enough room to score a run from the third base. The Cardinals had a prime chance in the ninth inning when Lidge allowed back-to-back singles, but this would be followed by a groundball that led to a play at the plate that saw Pujols out at home for one out. John Mabry then grounded into a double play to give Houston a 3–1 lead. In Game 5, the Astros were one away from history. Craig Biggio started the scoring with an RBI single in the second, but St. Louis responded by hitting a single with the bases loaded to drive in two runs. In the seventh inning, with two on base and starter Chris Carpenter trying to go through the inning clean, Lance Berkman hit a home run to give the Astros a 4–2 lead. It set the stage for a pivotal ninth inning with Lidge set to close the inning. He got two easy outs before Eckstein lined a single with two strikes; this was followed by Jim Edmonds drawing a walk. Lidge now faced Albert Pujols at the plate; he hit a shot to left field that would give St. Louis a 5–4 lead that proved the difference in making the series now 3–2 in favor of Houston. Game 6, played at Busch Stadium, was a rematch between Game 2 starters Roy Oswalt and Mark Mulder. Houston set up the scoring with getting runners on second and third base in the third inning before Mulder threw a wild pitch that scored a run; Biggio then hit a single to drive in the other runner to make it 2–0. Jason Lane hit his second home run of the series in the fourth inning to make it 3–0. Roy Oswalt would dominate the Cardinals for seven innings, allowing only a run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning as the bullpen took control from there while adding two insurance runs in the sixth and seventh. With Dan Wheeler on the mound, Yadier Molina hit a flyball to right field that was caught by Jason Lane for the final out, clinching the first ever pennant for the Astros in history. Oswalt, who went 2–0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings, was named NLCS MVP, the second time an Astro had won the award and first since Mike Scott in 1986.^[9]

World Series

After having played 4,714 games and their entire major league careers together in Houston, Bagwell and Biggio appeared in their first World Series in 2005.^[10]