Astros' ace reliever was unhittable but couldn't go 4 innings

The Cardinals jumped on former Pirate Dan Miceli for a 12th-inning rally.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Brad Lidge pitched better and longer than he had all season, leaving the St. Louis Cardinals frustrated with each blistering throw.
If only he could have gone another inning.
Dan Miceli took over for Lidge in the 12th, promptly giving up a two-run homer to Jim Edmonds that sent the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 win over the Astros on Wednesday night in Game 6 of the NL championship series.
"I think when you got a guy out there like that," Edmonds said of Lidge, "you can only ride him so long. He looks unhittable. It was just a break for us."
Was it ever.
The Astros might have already been boarding a flight for Boston if not for Miceli's meltdown.
For the third straight time in St. Louis and the fifth time this postseason, the Astros' leaky bullpen was pummeled late en route to a loss.
Oswalt was next
Tied at 4 in the bottom of the 12th inning, Astros manager Phil Garner sent Miceli to the mound with hopes that Houston could go another inning before turning to Roy Oswalt.
Oswalt was warming up, ready for a chance to close the door on St. Louis' postseason run and send the Astros to Fenway Park.
Didn't happen.
Miceli walked Albert Pujols, and Scott Rolen popped out to the catcher before Edmonds connected on a high fastball to give the Cardinals the win.
Miceli hardly had to turn around to watch the flight of the ball. The sound coming off Edmonds' bat was all too familiar.
"Yeah, I knew it was gone," Miceli said. "Another home run, you know. Just going to try and go out there tomorrow and battle."
The sellout crowd of 52,143 at Busch Stadium exploded into cheers after turning eerily quiet when the Astros rallied to tie the game in the ninth.
Miceli stumbled off the mound, looked off into the throng of towel-waving fans and walked away stone-faced as the Cardinals turned home plate into a mosh pit.
"Of course, trying to get to the World Series," Miceli said, "it's a big letdown for the team and myself."
Sound familiar? That's because it is.
Another game
Miceli did almost exactly the same thing in Game 2, allowing back-to-back homers to Pujols and Rolen in the eighth inning for St. Louis' 6-4 victory. In that loss, Lidge was waiting in the bullpen.
Garner said he had no concerns about sending Miceli, who had been one of the few dependable options in Houston's bullpen, back to the mound after the previous debacle.
"He's pitched for me in the eighth inning for quite some time," Garner said. "He's done a pretty good job of doing it. Got to get the guy back on the horse when he falls off it."
Miceli didn't just fall. He collapsed -- at the worst possible time.
Until Miceli took the mound on Wednesday, Houston appeared to seize the momentum after Pete Munro's shaky start.
Chad Harville, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler and Lidge combined to pitch 8 2/3 scoreless innings.
Dominating
Lidge, in particular, was dominating.
He pitched three perfect innings, a season high, striking out five along the way before giving way to Miceli.
"You stay out there as long as you can," Lidge said, "and hope your team is the team that hits the home run."
No such luck. The Cardinals knew they had earned a small victory just by outlasting the Astros' overwhelming closer.
"Of course you want him out of there," Pujols said. "You want to face another guy."
That guy turned out to be Miceli, St. Louis' favorite victim and perhaps yet another obstacle to Houston's World Series hopes.