ATLANTA (AP) – With plenty of incentive, Rafael Furcal made sure the Atlanta Braves’ season lasts at least two more games.

Set to report to jail once the postseason ends, Furcal hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 11th inning that sent the 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, flipping his bat in the air about halfway down to celebrate his first postseason homer.

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.

“For me, I come to the ballpark, walk in the stadium and forget about everything,” said Furcal, who had three hits and drove in three runs.

His sentence doesn’t begin until the Braves’ season finishes. Furcal ensured that it won’t be ending with Saturday’s Game 3.

“I think he felt just terrible,” Cox said. “Today, things worked out good for him. He got the game-winner, and that’s a big boost for him.”

The Astros routed the Braves 9-3 in Game 1 and were ahead 2-0 going to the seventh with 20-game winner Roy Oswalt on the mound.

But NL East champion Atlanta fought back, managing to overcome some shaky baserunning – two were thrown out at the plate – and plenty of other wasted chances before Furcal came through.

The Braves outhit the Astros 14-4, holding Houston without a hit for the final 5 1-3 innings.

Realizing the importance of the game, Atlanta kept closer John Smoltz on the mound for three innings, his longest stint since September 2001. The Braves also let Smoltz bat in the bottom of the ninth, and he responded with his first hit since 1999.

“We needed someone to step up,” Smoltz said, “and Raffy did.”

Cardinals 8, Dodgers 3

ST. LOUIS – Mike Matheny, Edgar Renteria and the St. Louis Cardinals can win with singles, doubles and triples, too.

After tying a postseason record with five home runs in the opener, the Cardinals stayed in the ballpark for Game 2 Thursday night. The result was exactly the same: another win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Following a sweep at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals will 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.

Matheny, the No. 8 hitter, became the first Cardinals player to get four RBIs in a division series game with two-run singles in the fifth and seventh. Matheny is a career .239 hitter, but is 15-for-39 (.385) during an 11-game postseason hitting streak.

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.

Reggie Sanders was 3-for-3 and scored twice in the No. 7 slot.

The Cardinals overcome a shaky outing by 15-game winner Jason Marquis, making his first career postseason start. He couldn’t hold a 3-1 second-inning lead, allowing homers to Werth in the first and to Green and Bradley on consecutive at-bats to start the fourth.

The homer by Bradley, the Dodgers’ troubled right fielder who had a run-in with a Los Angeles reporter on the off-day Wednesday, was a drive estimated at 461 that ricocheted off the right-field scoreboard.

Marquis lasted only 3 1-3 innings – his shortest outing of the year – and allowed three homers for the second time of the year. Both came against the Dodgers and both had added pressure – his Sept. 10 outing in Los Angeles came on the day his first daughter, Reese, was born, and he was unable to get a flight in time to be present for the birth.

Haren worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with three strikeouts. He’s projected to be in the rotation next year, with both Morris and Game 1 starter Woody Williams eligible for free agency.

Marquis was done after a one-out walk to David Ross in the fourth, but the Dodgers missed their best chance to break the game open. Cal Eldred walked Cesar Izturis