The former sixth-round pick of the Astros caught the final out in Game Six of the 2005 NLCS to send Houston to the World Series for the first time in their history. That highlighted a career that seemed to be going well when his power stroke suddenly left him and he faded quickly from the majors.

After short call-ups with Houston in 2002 and 2003, Lane hit .270 with four homers as a bench player in 2004. The next year, he got his chance to be a regular and responded with a career year of 26 homers and 78 RBIs to go with a .267 average as he became a key piece on a pennant-winning team. He added 15 homers the next year but hit just .201.

The next season, he was dealt to San Diego after a slow start and was unable to continue in the majors. For his six-year career, Lane hit .241 with 61 homers. In the postseason, he hit .258 with four bombs.