had already lost 3-1 at Atlanta. The Cardinals had narrowly avoided collapse and won the NL Central with an 83-78 record. Had the Astros won their last game, the Cardinals would have had to play a rained-out make-up game against the San Francisco Giants to determine the tie breaker between the Astros and the Cardinals. Postseason Division Series The Cardinals entered the postseason with the third-worst record in history for any MLB playoff team, beating only the 2005 Padres (82-80) and the 1973 New York Mets (82-79), and they had just endured a September record of 12–17. Experts gave them little hope of advancing in October. Yet the Cardinals proceeded to beat the NL West champion San Diego Padres in four games in the best-of-five Division Series. Carpenter won two games in the series including the clinching Game 4, Albert Pujols hit .333 with a home run and a double, and Yadier Molina hit .308 (4-13). St. Louis would advance to the NLCS to face the best team in the National League in 2006, the New York Mets. League Championship Series The Cardinals began the NLCS as huge underdogs to the New York Mets. The Mets won fourteen games more than the Cardinals did in 2006. Their offense scored 53 runs more than the Cardinals' did. Their pitchers allowed 31 fewer. In head-to-head contests during the season, the Mets won four of six from St. Louis. Also, by virtue of the better record, the Mets would have home field advantage. However, the series would be hard-fought by both sides. New York won Game 1 2-0 behind the pitching of ace Tom Glavine and a two-run homer by Carlos Beltrán. The Cardinals won Game 2 9-6 by scoring three runs off Met closer Billy Wagner in the top of the ninth inning, the rally started by a home run from light-hitting (16 career HR in 960 at-bats) So Taguchi. St. Louis won Games 3 and 5 and New York won Games 4 and 6, setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 in New York. Light drizzle fell all game, increasing to a light rain in the later innings. The Mets scored in the bottom of the first on a double by Beltran and a single by Wright, but would not get another hit until the ninth. The Cardinals evened it up at 1-1 in the second on singles by Molina (who followed