Atlanta, GA (My Sportsbook) - Carlos Beltran smacked a pair of solo homers and drove in five runs, Jeff Bagwell added a two-run blast and the Houston Astros advanced in the postseason for the first time ever with a 12-3 rout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the National League Division Series.

The Astros, who just this summer were all but counted out of the playoff race, banged out 17 hits and will now meet St. Louis in the NLCS starting Wednesday night.

Houston again needed its bullpen when starter Roy Oswalt was lifted after five innings, one day after Roger Clemens pitched five frames in the Astros' 6-5 loss in Game 4.

Pitching on three days' rest, Oswalt (1-0) gave up two runs and seven hits while battling a high pitch count. He struck out four in the win, but walked three and reached 100 pitches during Atlanta's two-run fourth.

Craig Biggio was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in the win. He and Bagwell were playing with the weight of former teammate Ken Caminiti's death on their shoulders, this after the former NL MVP passed away Sunday at age 41.

"It's awful news," Bagwell said before the game. "All this stuff...it's a great game that's brought us all together. But it goes beyond that."

Braves starter Jaret Wright (0-2), the loser in Game 1, pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He fanned one and was working through innings with fewer pitches than Oswalt, but Beltran's second homer of the game and a one-out walk in the sixth forced the Braves to use their bullpen.

Kevin Gryboski got Atlanta out of that inning, but relievers Chris Reitsma and Tom Martin were ineffective in a five-run Houston seventh, and the Astros scored three more in the eighth to put the game away.

Rafael Furcal and Johnny Estrada each stroked solo homers for the Braves, who have dropped four Division Series in five years -- including losses in three straight Game 5s.