Giants get quick start, top Cards

ST. LOUIS -- Spot starter Jim Brower allowed one run in six innings and Jose Cruz Jr. homered in a five-run first as the San Francisco Giants beat the Cardinals 5-1 Tuesday night.

Cruz and Ray Durham had two hits and scored a run as the NL West leaders controlled the league's best hitting team for the second straight game.

The Giants, who beat St. Louis in the NL championship series last season, won the series opener, also by a 5-1 score. San Francisco has won seven of 10 overall.

Tino Martinez had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who entered the series batting .292 by have just 13 hits in the two games. Albert Pujols is hitless in eight at-bats the first two games, dropping his major league-leading average 10 points to .381.

Pujols has gone two games without a hit only one other time this season, on April 9-10 at Colorado.

Brower (4-1) replaced struggling Damian Moss, who will return to the rotation on Sunday, and won in his first start since Sept. 20, 2001, when he was with the Reds. He was pitching so well against the Cardinals that manager Felipe Alou allowed him to work an extra inning after he had reached a pregame stated limit of 65 pitches.

Cardinals starter Woody Williams (10-3) was victimized in the five-run first by four hits just inside the line, including Cruz's homer just inside the foul pole in right. He retired 17 of the next 18 after that.

Williams gave up only one hit the final six innings, and allowed six hits overall with two strikeouts and two walks. In his last five games he's given up 23 earned runs in 33 innings.

Durham started the game with an opposite-field double down the left-field line, and Neifi Perez reached when his bunt sailed over the head of third baseman Scott Rolen, also down the line. Marquis Grissom hit a sacrifice fly, then Barry Bonds and Benito Santiago hit consecutive doubles for two more runs.

With two outs, Cruz hit a 3-2 pitch for his 13th homer for a 5-0 lead.

The Cardinals scored in the second when Scott Rolen singled with one out, stole second on strike three to Edgar Renteria, and scored on a single by Martinez.