Down to their last out and strike and facing elimination in game 5 of the 2005 National League Championship Series, David Eckstein hit a single in the hole on the left side off of the Astros' Brad Lidge to bring the tying run to the plate. The next batter, Jim Edmonds, worked a base on balls. Albert Pujols followed with a 412-foot home run onto the train tracks behind left field (had the game been played with the roof open, the drive would have exited Minute Maid Park, as it first hit off the glass wall which forms part of the roof), to put the Cardinals ahead 5–4. The roar of the crowd, anticipating the end of the game that would signal the Astros' entrance into the World Series, was hushed as they watched Pujols' home run (one of the announcers described it as a "vacuum" from the sudden intake of air by the crowd). Houston was then shut down in the bottom of the 9th by the Cardinals' closer Jason Isringhausen to preserve the win, guaranteeing at least one more game at old Busch Stadium. However, the Astros dominated Game 6, shutting the Cardinals down 5–1 for their first berth in the World Series in franchise history. Walker struck out in the ninth inning, his final major league at bat. He retired shortly after the game.