Extra baseball in Houston no surprise

Should anyone really be surprised that on a day of extra-inning games the Houston Astros and New York Mets should be involved in the longest?

After all, these are the teams who matched up for one of the more memorable extra-inning playoff games in the 1986 NL Championship Series. And each has another long playoff extra-inning game burned into its memory.

For the Astros, the memories are grand. The 18-inning NL Division Series clincher against Atlanta in 2005 sparked the 'Stros to their first World Series appearance.

For the Mets, the memories are far from grand. Anyone remember Kenny Rogers walking home the series-clinching run against Atlanta in the 1999 NL Championship Series?

Memories aside, the Mets and former Astro Billy Wagner finally got the better of Houston in 17 exhausting innings Saturday night.