Biggio flies in to join Astros for Game 2

KANSAS CITY -- Craig Biggio wanted to be a part of the excitement.

After watching the Astros' Game 1 victory over the Royals in the American League Division Series on Thursday night from Houston, Biggio joined Astros minority partner John Havens and flew to Kansas City to take in Game 2 on Friday from Kauffman Stadium.

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Biggio, who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame this year, is a special assistant to Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow.

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"I'm excited for them," Biggio said before Houston lost, 5-4. "They've played their butts off all season long, and you think about the schedule they've had -- going from Seattle to Arizona, to New York to here now -- and these guys don't care. They want to play some baseball. I'm excited for them. They're a great bunch of kids, they work hard and the city of Houston is excited for them to get home."

The Astros will play host to their first playoff game since the 2005 World Series with Sunday's Game 3 (4 p.m. ET, MLB Network) at Minute Maid Park. The game is sold out and the roof will be closed, and the environment figures to be electric. Biggio knows firsthand what the atmosphere will be like for a player.

Biggio said watching the players celebrate their AL Wild Card Game win over the Yankees on Tuesday brought back some memories. He was at the core of a club that made six playoff trips in nine years, but they didn't win a series until they beat the Braves in the 2004 National League Division Series. The Astros reached the World Series in 2005 and were swept by the White Sox.

"We've been struggling a little bit for a 10-year period, but our guys are back," Biggio said. "We have a great bunch of kids, very talented kids and a great pitching staff. It's exciting for our city and our organization. It was nice to see our guys finish up strong like they did, take care of business in New York. And we'll see what happens here."