Delay fails to slow Cards

ST. LOUIS -- Jason Marquis followed Woody Williams' lead, shutting down the Seattle Mariners before and after an hourlong rain delay.

Marquis worked 2 1/3 innings before the downpour and 3 2/3 innings after it, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-1 victory. Williams did the same on Friday after a two-hour delay.

"He had a good, relaxed way about him," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I asked Woody, 'Did you give him any advice?' He said, 'I didn't have to.'"

Jim Edmonds made his first start in center field in eight days and showed no rust with a home run and three RBIs, and Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer. The Cardinals have won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 19-3, holding the Mariners to 12 hits.

"They've got two guys at the top of the order who are getting on base and a bunch of guys that can knock them in," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said. "It is the best lineup in the National League."

The Cardinals are 10-1 in interleague play with one game to go.

Bret Boone homered, and Randy Winn had two hits for the Mariners, who have lost nine of 12.

"We just don't have it going right now, and it's domino effecting everywhere," losing pitcher Ryan Franklin said. "It's tough."

Boone's 11th home run was the only damage against Marquis (8-4) before the rain. After the delay, Marquis gave up only two hits the rest of his six-inning outing.

"Obviously, I was getting a little tired," Marquis said. "It's tough on your body. But no pains, no aches."

Marquis also doubled and scored in the third, extending his hitting streak to six games. He's 9-for-14 during the streak, the longest by a pitcher in the major leagues since Mike Hampton hit in eight straight for Colorado in 2002.

"I'm going to enjoy that streak while it lasts," Marquis said.

Marquis is 5-0 in his last six starts with a 3.86 ERA in that span. He leads NL pitchers with eight hits and is tied for first with eight RBIs.

Pujols answered Boone's home run with his 21st homer in the bottom of the first, just inside the line in left field, to put the Cardinals ahead for good. Franklin called the homer "a joke."

"That ball don't go out of any ballpark, except maybe Fenway," Franklin said. "He did what I wanted him to do, pop it up."

Edmonds and Edgar Renteria had RBI singles in the third, and Edmonds hit his 16th homer with a man on in the fifth off Franklin (3-7) for a 6-1 lead. Edmonds has been hampered by a groin injury and chased some fly balls in the ninth.

"It was a little tighter than I wanted it to be," Edmonds said. "That's just the way it goes. I've just got to suck it up and go out and play."

Reggie Sanders and So Taguchi drove in a run apiece in the seventh off Shigetoshi Hasegawa.

Franklin gave up six runs on 11 hits in six innings. He has lost his last three starts allowing 17 runs in 16 1/3 innings.

"He probably pitched better than the numbers looked at the end," Melvin said. "We probably had to run him out there one more inning than we wanted to, because we tried to keep our bullpen in tact.

The victory assured the Cardinals of their ninth consecutive series win at home with the finale on today. St. Louis hasn't lost a series at home since losing two of three to the Phillies from April 27-29.Noteworthy

Renteria is batting .357 (15-for-42) during a 10-game hitting streak.

The Cardinals are averaging 6.1 runs in Marquis' starts, giving him the most run support of any of their starters.

St. Louis has hit five homers in the last three games after going without a long ball for four games.

Steve Kline worked a scoreless eighth and hasn't allowed a run in 19 home appearances, covering 14 2/3 innings, this season.

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen, working for the first time in a week, pitched the ninth.