Rain delayed the start of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series until 7:45 CDT and a light drizzle was still coming down when the game got underway. If not for the rain, CF-S Carlos Beltran's first at-bat might have been mistaken for a replay of his first plate appearance the night before. While LF-R Craig Biggio was not on base this time, Beltran once again hit a homer into the right field stands on his first trip to the plate.

Between the top and bottom of the second inning, left field umpire Ed Rapuano left the game due to dizziness. During the regular season, umpiring crews only consist of four men, but MLB adds umpires to the left and right field lines for the playoffs. Something similar happened in Game 1 of last year's NLCS, and I maintain as I did then that if the extra umpires are truly useful in improving the quality of the officiating, MLB should send a reserve to each playoff game to avoid a shortage in case of injury or illness rather than simply leaving an outfield line empty on the rare occasions when an umpire is unable to maintain his post.

The rain seemed to make the players anxious to finish the game quickly. Strikeouts, pop-ups, and flyballs were plentiful in the early innings. Outfielders were cautious of their footing when running. After the top of the first, there were a few baserunners but no real excitement outside of a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play to end the top of the third. 3B-R Morgan Ensberg sent a ball soaring into the left field stands to lead off the fourth, however that was the highlight of the inning.

Leading off the fifth, Biggio hit a line drive into shallow left field for a single. During 1B-R Jeff Bagwell's at-bat, Biggio advanced to second on a balk. RHP Matt Morris then walked Bagwell. Up next, RF-S Lance Berkman hit a fly ball over 1B-R Albert Pujols' head and into right field. Pujols leapt up in an attempt to make the catch and his glove flew off of his hand but did deflect the ball. Biggio scored, Bagwell advanced to second, and Berkman was safe at first.

In the bottom of the inning, left-handed hitter Marlon Anderson pinch-hit for Morris and walked. However, he was erased from the bases when 2B-L Tony Womack hit a ground ball to third and the Cardinals chose to eliminate the lead runner. Womack stole second during RF-L Larry Walker's at-bat only to have his efforts rendered unnecessary when Walker shot a ball over the right field wall for a two-run homer. Pujols then drove a ground ball up the middle into center for a single, prompting Houston to replace RHP Pete Munro with RHP Chad Harville. After the change, 3B-R Scott Rolen catapulted a home run into the Astros' bullpen in left field, giving St. Louis a 4-3 lead over Houston.

LHP Steve Kline replaced Morris on the mound in the sixth but was pulled after giving up consecutive singles to SS-S Jose Vizcaino and C-R Brad Ausmus. New reliever RHP Kiko Calero worked the Cardinals out of the jam without allowing the Astros to score. RHP Dan Wheeler followed with a one-two-three inning for Houston, preventing St. Louis from increasing their lead in the sixth.

Berkman hit a fly ball into left center to lead off the seventh with a double. Later during Ensberg's at-bat, Berkman stole third, putting him in position to score when Ensberg hit a ground ball into center for a single. That tied the score at 4, and with Wheeler pitching another perfect inning, the game remained tied going into the eighth.

Pujols broke the tie, leading off the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot into the left field stands off of new reliever RHP Dan Miceli. Rolen followed with a solo home run launched into the Cardinals' bullpen in right center. Houston failed to dent St. Louis' new lead in the top of the ninth, so the Cardinals won Game 2 by a score of 6-4.