The longest postseason game by innings in MLB history is 18 innings, which has happened three times. The first 18-inning contest was played between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros on October 9, 2005. In Game 4 of a National League Division Series in Houston, the Braves (who were trailing the series 2–1 and facing elimination) took a 6–1 lead into the 8th inning. A grand slam by Lance Berkman in the bottom of the 8th brought the score to 6–5, and with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Brad Ausmus homered to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The score remained deadlocked at 6–6 until the 18th, when the Astros' Chris Burke (who entered the game in the 9th inning as a pinch runner) hit a walk-off home run to left to win it, sending Houston to the NLCS. Roger Clemens, who was brought in to pinch-hit in the 15th and pitched the last three innings in relief, was credited as the winning pitcher in the 5-hour, 50-minute contest. Adam LaRoche and Tim Hudson played in both of the first two 18-inning games. This one as Atlanta Braves and the second one as opposing sides of one another with Hudson pitching in both games as the visiting team's starting pitcher. It is the longest winner in a potential clinching game in baseball history.