stlcardinals.com
May 9, 2003

Cards have a grand time at Wrigley

By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- One warm, sunny afternoon at Wrigley Field washed away four frustrating days in Cincinnati for the Cardinals. Matt Morris toughed out eight innings with the wind blowing out for his fourth win, and St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Cubs.

Jeff Fassero pitched a perfect ninth for his first save since 2001 as the Cardinals bullpen bounced back from a rough stretch of late. Fassero was the fourth St. Louis pitcher to record a save in 2003, joining Steve Kline, Kiko Calero and Dustin Hermanson. Calero appeared to have been installed as closer pro tem until he gave up a ninth-inning walkoff homer against the Reds on Tuesday.

But the star for St. Louis, getting it done with the bat and glove, was Fernando Vina. The Cards' leadoff man, a subject of recent trade rumors, continued his resurgence from an early-season slump, lofting a second-inning grand slam and making several slick plays in the field.

Vina has been a Cubs killer his entire career. He entered the series with a .342 lifetime average against Chicago, his second-best against any opponent, and 25 RBIs, his most against any team.

"You just try to put the ball in play hard," said Vina, who continues to play with a sore right hand. "Fortunately I've been able to do that here at Wrigley field. It's a big rivalry and you get fired up."

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano appeared to be cruising in the early going, giving up just a bloop single to Albert Pujols among the Cards' first six batters. But when Edgar Renteria beat out a high-hop infield single, Zambrano seemed to get rattled. He walked the No. 8 hitter, slumping Mike Matheny, and then Morris beat out an infield single to load the bases.

That brought up Vina, who pulled Zambrano's first pitch just over the fence into the right-field bleachers. It was the second baseman's third longball since April 30, after going nearly a full year without one.

"The offense came up big today," said Morris, who has held opponents to three runs or fewer in seven straight starts. "Zambrano was throwing the ball 100 miles an hour -- their whole staff does. It's tough to hit a guy like that. Vina came up with a big knock and we tried to make it last."

Morris had a little trouble with the wind, which was blowing decidedly out on a warm day by the lake, but he managed to avoid the big inning. Corey Patterson cracked a solo homer to left to make it 4-1 in the second. Zambrano doubled and came around to score on a double play in the third, but Morris once again escaped without further damage.

Moises Alou clubbed a mammoth homer over the back fence and onto Waveland Avenue in the fourth, cutting the lead to a run. The Cubs threatened more, loading the bases with one out, but Zambrano hit into a 4-3 double play as two-time Gold Glover Vina came up big in the field.

"That home run was big, but I love playing defense," Vina said. "And turning those twos, bases loaded, that type of thing, I just really enjoy it. Today was a big day."

It was three full innings before another run crossed the plate, as the two starters clamped down. Morris allowed a pair of two-out singles in the fifth, then set down eight in a row. At one point he recorded four consecutive strikeouts.

The St. Louis ace was mixing in all his pitches with success. He got outs with his trademark sinker and curve as well as a 95-mph four-seam fastball and a straight change. The last of the four straight Ks came against Sammy Sosa, as Morris made the slugger look terrible swinging at a changeup.

"As the game starts to flow and you get your rhythm out there, you're able to have more confidence in other pitches," Morris said. "I threw some changeups late in the game, threw some balls (inside) late in the game. I made some good curveballs -- really relied on my curveball late to keep them off balance and I was able to get some outs."

In the top of the eighth, his offense gave him a little wiggle room. J.D. Drew shook off a pair of called strikes -- each of which he thought should have been ball four -- and ripped a 3-2 pitch from Zambrano into the center field bleachers for his second home run of the season. Manager Tony La Russa was ejected by home plate umpire Mike Winters for arguing the second strike call.

"The only thing I asked him," La Russa said, "that 3-0, it looked like J.D. thought it was ball four. And I asked him whether he was mad at him. He said no."

Jim Edmonds doubled two batters later, ending Zambrano's day, and Scott Rolen doubled Edmonds home for a 6-3 lead. Fassero made it stand up and the Cardinals improved to 18-16.