Ailing Giants trim Cardinals 6-4

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With most of their power sidelined, the San Francisco Giants turned to Kirk Rueter.

Rueter carried a shutout into the eighth inning and Rich Aurilia homered Wednesday, leading the Giants to a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Giants -- playing without Barry Bonds, Benito Santiago and Reggie Sanders -- ended the three-game winning streak of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

Rueter (8-6) allowed two runs -- neither earned -- on six hits over 7 1-3 innings. He walked none and won for the first time since June 4, nine starts ago.

"We were kind of strapped and Kirk gave us everything he had," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "He's a big-game pitcher and one of the best competitors out there. Even with a makeshift lineup we have to win games."

Rueter improved to 9-3 in 21 outings against the Cardinals. He hasn't lost to St. Louis since July 22, 1998, at Candlestick Park.

"The first inning was big for me," Rueter said. "I botched a play and put an extra runner on base, but then got a double play. I relaxed after that."

Aurilia had four hits in 23 previous at bats against Andy Benes before going 2-for-2 with a walk against the right-hander.

"Our main goal right now is to try and stay where we are until everybody gets healthy," Aurilia said. "We really haven't been hot together and I think we will."

Robb Nen relieved with no outs and two on base in the ninth and got his 27th save. Nen gave up a two-run single to Mike Matheny.

Benes (0-3) went a season-high 4 2-3 innings, allowing two runs -- one earned -- on four hits. He walked two and struck out five.

Benes, making his second start since coming off the disabled list on July 16, hasn't won as a starter since June 13, 2001, against the Chicago White Sox.

"I thought he looked sharp," Matheny said. "We'll take that almost every time."

Benes breezed through the first three innings, striking out five. Only Aurilia, who homered on a 1-0 pitch to lead off the fourth, hit the ball hard against Benes.

"I thought he did all right, but I think he's capable of more," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

Rueter retired 14 in a row and 17 of 18. He allowed only leadoff hitter Fernando Vina to advance past second through the first seven innings.

"He's given us fits," Matheny said. "He makes his pitches and hits his spots."

Aurilia's homer was his eighth of the year, and his first since July 5 against Arizona's Curt Schilling.

"A good sign for me is I hit a mistake pitch," Aurilia said. "It was middle of the plate and up in the zone."

The Giants added an unearned run in the fifth. Yorvit Torrealba singled, advanced on a sacrifice by Rueter and scored on Vina's error at second base.

Tom Goodwin and Shawon Dunston each had two-out, bases-loaded singles against Luther Hackman in the sixth to give the Giants a 4-0 lead.

The Giants added two more runs against Mike Matthews in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to Torrealba and Rueter's sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals scored a pair of unearned runs in the eighth, with Vina and Jim Edmonds hitting RBI groundouts. The runs were set up by second baseman Jeff Kent's error.

Notes: Cardinals 1B Tino Martinez sat out the game with a sore back, and will most likely miss Thursday's game, La Russa said. ... Bonds, who celebrated his 38th birthday, and Sanders missed their second straight games with hamstring strains. ... Santiago was a late scratch with a stye on his left eye. ... Cardinals SS Edgar Renteria had two hits and needs three for 1,000. ... Rueter has one career shutout -- a 1-0 victory over the Giants in 1995 while with Montreal. That was 208 starts ago.