Oswalt delivers clincher

? Call him Roy Wonder, the 20-game winner in the same rotation with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte – and the one who finally pitched the Houston Astros into the World Series.

While Roy Oswalt usually prefers to be out of the spotlight, he is the toast of Houston – and the MVP of the NL championship series – after allowing one run in seven innings Wednesday night in a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that sent the Astros to the first World Series in their 44-season history.

“He was on tonight, and we’ve seen it many times, no-hit stuff early,” Clemens said. “What we saw tonight is what I’ve been witnessing for two years. The guy’s won 20 games twice, and they talk about him going unnoticed. He’s not unnoticed around here.”

Oswalt threw 77 of his season-high 118 pitches for strikes and allowed just three hits in the Game 6 clincher.

“Yeah, I would classify it as one of the biggest games,” Oswalt said. “Just because of the history of the team, of not being in the World Series after so many years and getting so close.”

Clemens and Pettitte are going to the World Series again, the former New York Yankees going this time with their hometown team.