The players' union filed the appeal Thursday before Game 7 of the NLCS. St. Louis general manager Walt Jocketty said he was not aware of it.

Tavarez was penalized after a meltdown in Game 4 at Houston. He gave up a go-ahead run to Carlos Beltran, then threw a pitch over Bagwell. At the end of the inning, the reliever punched a bullpen phone during a dugout tantrum and broke his left hand.

Wearing a special splint to protect the hand inside his glove, Tavarez pitched two hitless innings and got the win in Game 6 Wednesday, a 6-4 victory in 10 innings that evened the NLCS.

STRONG START: Craig Biggio led off Game 7 with a home run, and it was a record-setting shot. The drive against Jeff Suppan gave Houston and St. Louis a combined 24 home runs, the most in any postseason series. Florida and the Cubs set the previous mark of 23 in last year's NLCS.

EVEN STEVEN: Sometimes the statistics don't lie. The Cardinals and Astros entered Game 7 with identical numbers in batting average (.246), runs scored (29) and ERA (4.80).

"It's unusual," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "... Maybe that's the reason we're tied."

LAUNCHING PAD: No matter when the Astros' postseason run ends, Houston general manager Gerry Hunsicker won't get much time to savor a special season.

A number of Astros are eligible for free agency this offseason, the most important of whom could be outfielder Carlos Beltran. Asked before Game 7 if he was worried that Beltran might not return, Hunsicker said, "It could be the last game for a lot of guys."

The Astros ranked 12th in payroll on opening day and acquired Beltran from Kansas City in late June. But given Beltran's rise to stardom since, the GM said a club such as Houston can't compete if the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs join the auction.

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