Four pitch in for Cardinals' first shutout

MONTREAL -- The St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen didn't get credit for a complete-game shutout, even though they threw one.

Reliever Mike Matthews combined with three St. Louis pitchers on a five-hitter and the Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos 5-0 Saturday.

St. Louis won its second straight to improve to 4-8 with one game remaining on a season-long 13-game road trip. Montreal lost its second in a row after a six-game winning streak.

"We're a team with a lot of injuries to a lot of key pitchers on our staff, but we're not showing it," Matthews said. "We're out there battling and losing a lot of one-run games. We're doing everything because we know that everybody has to chip in until those guys are healthy."

Matthews (1-0) allowed one hit in 3 2/3 innings after relieving rookie Michael Crudale -- the 10th starter the Cardinals have used in 24 games -- to begin the third.

"I knew before the game that I had a chance to go two or three innings," Matthews said. "I wanted to go in there and pitch as deep as I could into the game just to give our bullpen a rest."

Matthews walked four and struck out five. Luther Hackman relieved Matthews and got the last out of the sixth, before pitching the seventh and eighth.

"Everybody was key," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I knew if our first three pitchers pitched well we had a chance to win, and they pitched very well."

Gene Stechschulte pitched the ninth.

"It was almost like a spring training game where they just continue to throw guys at you," Expos catcher Michael Barrett said. "They had their good stuff working for them today and we failed to get the job done in a few key opportunities."

Eduardo Perez hit a 473-foot solo homer in the fourth against Bruce Chen (2-1). Placido Polanco's RBI double keyed a four-run fifth.

Chen made his first start of the season. He left after allowing three straight hits to begin the fifth.

Crudale started in place of left-hander Bud Smith, who became the fifth St. Louis starter placed on the disabled list Thursday.

Making his first major league start after two brief appearances in relief, Crudale loaded the bases in the first on two singles and a walk.

He got Orlando Cabrera to fly to left to escape the jam and pitched a perfect second before giving way to Matthews.

"Crudale had the least dues paid in the majors," La Russa said. "That's a terrible position to be in because you get a loss or a no-decision. He's just a babe so you have to earn your spurs, and after that it was just play the game."

Leading 1-0 following Perez's homer, Fernando Vina led off the fifth with a single.

Polanco doubled to the gap in right center to make it 2-0 before advancing to third as Edgar Renteria reached on an infield hit on a close play at first.

Expos manager Frank Robinson came out to argue first-base umpire Tim Welke's call. Video replays showed that shortstop Orlando Cabrera's one-hop throw beat Renteria to the base.

"It kind of set up the big inning that they had," Robinson said. "And you would hope that those type of calls would go the way they should and be called correctly. With a club like that, and when you're not working on all cylinders, it hurts. And we clearly had an out there."

Masato Yoshii replaced Chen and Albert Pujols hit an RBI single to drive in St. Louis' third run before Jim Edmonds pinch-hit for Perez and delivered a run-scoring single to put the Cardinals up 4-0.

St. Louis added its fifth run -- and fourth of the inning -- when Pujols scored from third as Tino Martinez grounded into a double play.

Montreal's Jose Vidro, who singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, was ejected by plate umpire Alfonso Marquez after he took a called third strike to end the seventh.

Noteworthy

Edmonds remained in the game and took over in center from Eli Marrero, who moved to right.

Cardinals RF J.D. Drew also didn't start.

Vidro has two 14-game hitting streaks in his career, most recently last July 4-20.