Cards weather rain delay, defeat Mariners 11-2

ST. LOUIS -- Woody Williams came back stronger after a 2-hour rain delay, combining with three relievers on a six-hitter Friday night in the St. Louis Cardinals' 11-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Williams also doubled and scored for the Cardinals, who stopped a three-game losing streak. The NL Central leader, which has the league's best record at 47-32, has not lost more than three in a row all season. The Cardinals improved to 9-1 in interleague play.

Reggie Sanders homered and had an RBI double, and Albert Pujols drove in three runs and scored three times. John Mabry had a three-run homer in the sixth, and Scott Rolen drove in his major league-leading 77th run.

Ichiro Suzuki had two hits in Seattle's first regular-season game at St. Louis. The Mariners lost for the eighth time in 11 games.

Williams (6-6) gave up a run in the first when Suzuki got a leadoff single, stole second, advanced on a groundout and scored on Jolbert Cabrera's sacrifice fly. After Suzuki's hit retired his next 13 batters in order, interrupted by a rain delay with one out in the top of the third.

Williams, who has lost five of his first six decisions, is 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA in his last four starts. He allowed three hits, struck out four and walked none.

Two of the Mariners' first five batters broke their bats against Williams, who also barehanded Cabrera's broken-bat soft liner in the fourth.

Kiko Calero, Ray King and Cal Eldred combined for three-hit relief.

Sanders' second-inning homer, his 14th of the season and second in two games, was the only hit allowed by Jamie Moyer, who left after the delay, having pitched two innings.

St. Louis scored five runs in 2 1-3 innings against his replacement, rookie Matt Thornton (0-1).

Thornton, who pitched four scoreless innings against San Diego in his debut Sunday, gave up five hits and walked five.

St. Louis had three doubles in a three-run third that put the Cardinals ahead 4-1. In perhaps the biggest play of the inning, Edgar Renteria barely beat the throw from Cabrera in left field on Pujols' RBI single.

Renteria and Pujols walked to start the fifth, and Rolen hit an RBI single and So Taguchi was walked by J.J. Putz with the bases loaded.

Notes: John Olerud homered in the ninth to end an 0-for-16 slide. ... Bret Boone is 0-for-12 against Williams. ... The Cardinals went 288 at-bats between homers with men on base before Mabry connected off Putz in the sixth. Mabry had been in a 2-for-14 slide. ... Sanders, who entered 1-for-14 against the Mariners, went 2-for-5.