Cards take Central lead

MILWAUKEE -- Mark McGwire is feeling fine, and not just because he's found his hitting stroke.

"This team has been remarkable, and the biggest key is pitching," McGwire said.

McGwire helped too, driving in five runs Thursday to help Matt Morris win his 22nd game and give the St. Louis Cardinals a 10-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

"Offense is going to be the headline in the paper today, but pitching is going to get you to the World Series," McGwire said. "It's just been a great second half for the pitching staff."

St. Louis moved one game ahead of Houston in the NL Central. The Astros lost 10-2 to San Francisco Thursday night. Houston visits St. Louis for a three-game series starting today.

"It's the best of times," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "How much more exciting can it be than to play the last three games for the chance to be the champion?"

McGwire hit his 29th homer, a three-run shot off Rocky Coppinger in the sixth, leaving him one shot shy of his 12th 30-homer season despite spending much of the summer slumping or hurt.

"Let me tell you something, if that guy gets hot, our chances get better," La Russa said.

Morris (22-8) became the first St. Louis pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1970 to win 22 games.

"It's amazing," Morris said. "I'm usually intimidated by him, but maybe I'll talk to him now. It's unbelievable to be mentioned with him. To be put in a class like that with the history of St. Louis is unbelievable."

The Brewers announced during the game that Hall of Famer Rod Carew will resign as Milwaukee's hitting instructor at season's end.

"Rod works hard. He's a great guy," Brewers slugger Jeromy Burnitz said. "We're going to miss him."

The Brewers are on pace to record more strikeouts than hits, something that's never happened in the major leagues. Carew said nobody preaches the fundamentals more than he but it was time for a new messenger.

Burnitz said there was plenty of blame to go around.

"As players, when a hitting coach or pitching coach loses his job, you've got to put some of the blame on yourself," Burnitz said. "That's the nature of this game. You can't really fire the players, so the coaches are the first to go."

Morris scattered three singles in six shutout innings. He walked three and struck out 10.

McGwire, who followed Albert Pujols' RBI double with a run-scoring single in the first, made it 4-0 in the third with a run-scoring groundout following Jim Edmonds' RBI double off Jimmy Haynes (8-17).

After Mike Matheny's RBI single in the fifth, McGwire's three-run shot off Coppinger made it 8-0.

"This team has turned it around," McGwire said after the Cardinals improved to 49-24 since the All-Star break. "It just shows that whoever was brilliant enough to pick 162 games ... It doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish."

Elvis Pena had an RBI groundout in the seventh for Milwaukee, and Richie Sexson's solo homer, his 44th, off Steve Kline in the eighth, moved him one behind the franchise record set by Gorman Thomas in 1979.

Luis Lopez added an RBI triple off Kline to make it 8-3, but Eli Marrero's two-run shot off Mark Leiter in the ninth made it 10-3.

Haynes allowed four runs, five hits and five walks in four innings. The Brewers issued a season-high 11 walks.

NOTES: Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was ejected in the second inning for arguing with home plate umpire Tim Tschida. ... Morris is 6-1 against the Brewers in his career, including 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA this season. His career ERA against Milwaukee 1.99. ... Milwaukee fell to 17-10 in day games at Miller Park. ... The Brewers' 93 losses are their highest total since 1993, when they also lost that many.