ATLANTA - Set to report to jail once the postseason ends, Rafael Furcal hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 11th inning that sent the Atlanta Braves over the Houston Astros 4-2 Thursday and tied their NL playoff series at one game each.

With Houston on the verge of a commanding lead, Atlanta rallied from a late two-run deficit to force extra innings. Both teams went to extraordinary means - the Astros looking to go two-up in the best-of-five series, the Braves realizing they needed a split before heading to Minute Maid Park, where Houston has won 18 straight games.

Braves rookie Charles Thomas singled with one out in the 11th off Dan Miceli and stole second. Eli Marrero popped out to the catcher, but Furcal golfed a 1-2 pitch deep into the right-field seats.

Furcal was in court just hours before Game 1, where he was sentenced to 21 days in jail and 28 days in a treatment center for violating probation with his second drunken-driving arrest in four years.

The sentence doesn't begin until the Braves' season finishes.

The Braves outhit the Astros 14-4, holding Houston without a hit for the final 5

innings. Furcal had three hits and drove in three runs.

Realizing the importance of the game, Atlanta kept closer John Smoltz on the mound for three innings, his longest stint since September 2001. He even got a hit, his first since 1999.

ST. LOUIS - After tying a postseason record with five home runs in the opener, the St. Louis Cardinals stayed in the ballpark for Game 2. The result was exactly the same: another 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.Following a sweep at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals head to Dodger Stadium with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five NL playoff series. The third game will be Saturday night, with Matt Morris trying to wrap it up against Jose Lima.Milton Bradley, Shawn Green and Jayson Werth homered for the Dodgers, who lost their eighth straight playoff game and remained winless in the postseason since beating Oakland in the 1988 World Series. Los Angeles dropped to 0-5 at St. Louis this year.The Cardinals combined eight singles, two doubles and one triple, and the closest they came to a home run was a drive to the wall by winning pitcher Dan Haren. Seven of their eight runs scored with two outs as St. Louis used a small-ball approach to chase Jeff Weaver in the fifth inning.Less prominent players in St. Louis' high-powered lineup were largely responsible with the 6-7-8 slots in the order going a combined 8-for-10 with five RBIs and five runs scored.Mike Matheny, the No. 8 hitter, became the first Cardinals player to get four RBI in a division series game with two-run singles in the fifth and seventh.Edgar Renteria, the No. 6 hitter, was 3-for-4. His two-out, go-ahead single was the key blow in a three-run fifth that broke a tie and put St. Louis ahead 6-3.