Ausmus awes Cards with late dazzle

ST. LOUIS -- Right now, Brad Ausmus is the best clutch hitter the Houston Astros have.

Ausmus drove in the go-ahead run for the second straight game with a ninth-inning single as the Astros beat the Cardinals 2-1 on Saturday.

He had a grand slam and then homered in the 12th of a 6-5 victory Friday night, and is 7-for-15 overall with seven RBIs.

"Ideally, it would be like this for 162 games," Ausmus said. "But I know there's going to be some valleys."

Ausmus also sparkled behind the plate, throwing out two runners attempting to steal. He's thrown out five Cardinals the first two games of the three-game series.

"I expect to do well defensively, regardless of whether I hit or not," Ausmus said. "You have to separate the two."

Cardinals starter Matt Morris allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings and Kerry Robinson had an RBI single in the seventh for the Cardinals.

Morris allowed only three singles, striking out 10 and walking two. He fanned Jeff Kent all three times and reached double figures in strikeouts for the eighth time in his career.

In the opener, Morris allowed six runs in seven innings. He had better command of his curveball in his second outing.

"That's the thing with me," Morris said. "If I don't have the breaking ball, if they're seeing it well and taking good hacks at it, then I'm just battling with my fastball and anybody in this league can hit a fastball."

Richard Hidalgo's RBI double off Jeff Fassero with two outs in the ninth tied it as the Cardinals blew their first of three save chances without closer Jason Isringhausen.

Isringhausen is on the disabled list, coming back from offseason shoulder surgery.

Ausmus followed with an RBI single off Dustin Hermanson.

Pete Munro (1-0) got the last out in the eighth, retiring pinch-hitter Albert Pujols on a groundout. Billy Wagner finished for his first save.

"These guys are our rivals," Wagner said. "They're the champions, and the championship is going to come through here.

"We have to beat them every chance we get."

The Cardinals missed a chance to close it out in the ninth when third baseman Scott Rolen's relay to second was high, preventing a double play.

"He gets it down, it's probably a double play," manager Tony La Russa said. "But I give (Jeff) Bagwell credit for breaking it up because if he hadn't hustled, (Fernando) Vina still had a throw to first base."

The Astros' best scoring chance against Morris came when Bagwell and Lance Berkman singled to start the seventh, Berkman through an overshifted defense. Morris recovered by striking out Kent, then got Hidalgo to ground out and Ausmus to line out.

Mike Matheny, 10-for-20 to start the season, doubled off Tim Redding with one out in the seventh for his first extra-base hit of the year. Robinson, the eighth-place hitter starting in place of Jim Edmonds, followed with a single up the middle.

Redding, who spent most of the second half of last season in the minors, lasted seven innings to tie his career best in his first start since July 14, 2002. He allowed one run on seven hits with one strikeout and no walks.

The Cardinals used a makeshift outfield that featured zero starters. Pujols rested with a sore left hamstring, Edmonds got a day off as he continues to recuperate from a calf injury and right fielder Eli Marrero also was out with soreness in his hip and leg.

Notes: Redding is 0-4 since his last victory May 29, 2002, in relief against the Cardinals. His last win as a starter came May 13, 2002 against the Phillies. ... Morris' last double-figure strikeout game was May 8, 2002 at Chicago against the Cubs. ... Last year, Morris was 5-6 with a 4.96 ERA in day games and 12-3, 2.45 at night. He allowed six runs in seven innings in the opener, at night.