stlcardinals.com
May 4, 2003

Morris goes distance in win

By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals completed a perfect homestand on Sunday, jumping out to an early lead and holding on to beat the Expos 6-2. It was the seventh straight win for the first-place Redbirds, who capitalized on a strong performance from Matt Morris and Scott Rolen's first home run in 2 1/2 weeks.

The game played as though from a script, with the Cardinals utilizing the same plan to win as in nearly every other game this week. They put runs on the board early against the opposing starter, played spotless defense and got a top-notch performance from their starting pitcher.

"That's a great formula," said manager Tony La Russa. "Stop them and the offense scores early. Gives you a great chance to win games."

Morris notched his second complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out six. He let his defense do much of the work, as he recorded 14 ground ball outs en route to his third win of 2003. Morris has allowed three runs or fewer in six consecutive starts since a rough Opening Day, and his ERA dipped to 2.44 after Sunday's performance.

"I was peeking down at the bullpen to see if someone was up," said Morris, whose only other complete game this year was a heartbreaking loss at Houston. "It was a good opportunity for me to close one out."

This time the victim of the Cardinals' red-hot offense was Javier Vazquez, who entered the game as one of the National League's hottest pitchers. He joined such luminaries as Al Leiter, Pedro Astacio and Tomo Ohka in getting roughed up early by St. Louis hitters. All told, the Cards outscored their opponents 48-16 on the six-game homestand.

"Makes it easier," Morris said. "A couple runs on the board, they've got to play catch-up. ... Maybe they swing at some balls they wouldn't swing at."

But in the first, it looked like Morris might be the one facing the early deficit. Jose Vidro doubled -- the first of three hits for the Expos second baseman -- and Orlando Cabrera walked to put two men on, but Morris struck out Brad Wilkerson to end the threat.

Meanwhile Vazquez came out blazing, retiring the first five batters before Tino Martinez knocked a two-out double in the second. Once Martinez got a foot in the door, his teammates pushed right through. Edgar Renteria's double made it 1-0 and Mike Matheny singled home Renteria for a two-run St. Louis lead.

"Vazquez really pitched well," La Russa said. "We had a couple great at-bats to get some runs off him. That five runs is deceiving."

Once his offense handed him a lead, Morris picked it up. Vidro singled in the third, but Vladimir Guerrero hit into the first of two double plays. Every time he batted, Guerrero had a runner on base, but the hulking slugger didn't drive in a run all afternoon. It was a pleasant change of pace for Morris, who had been hit hard by Guerrero in the past.

"I was able to get the double play ball with a monster hitter," Morris said. "All of a sudden it's two outs and I'm pitching from the windup. It's tough to get a game plan against a guy like that."

The Cards built the lead in the bottom of the inning as Albert Pujols singled, Jim Edmonds cranked a run-scoring double, and Rolen made it 5-0 with his sixth home run. With a stiff wind blowing in from left field, Rolen's flyball shot over the right-field fence was unexpected. It was his first homer since April 16.

"The wind pulled it all the way down the line," he said. "I thought it might have helped me out, shortened the distance."

Morris held the Expos hitless in the fourth and fifth before running into his only speed bump. Vidro and Guerrero singled to start the sixth. Morris struck out Cabrera, but Wilkerson delivered a two-run double to make it a three-run game. That was all Montreal would get against Morris, however.

With their seventh straight win, the Cardinals improved to a season-best five games over .500. The sweep of Montreal was St. Louis' first since Sept. 28-30, 1992. The last time the Cardinals had a perfect homestand of at least six games was Aug. 13-19, 2001, when they won seven straight against Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

The Cardinals head to Cincinnati on Monday for their first glimpse at the new Great American Ball Park. They play only NL Central opponents for the next month.