Giants shell Morris early, hold off Cardinals' comeback bid

San Francisco hung on for an 8-7 victory late Saturday night.

By Greg Beacham ~ The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Morris quickly became a spectator in his latest start -- and he watched the St. Louis Cardinals nearly rally out of the huge hole in which he put them.

Ray Durham's bases-loaded triple capped the Giants' eight-run first inning, and San Francisco held on for an 8-7 victory Saturday night.

Morris got just two outs in a disastrous outing for St. Louis, allowing seven hits and a walk and hitting another of the 11 batters he faced. San Francisco snapped its three-game losing streak despite getting just four hits after the first.

"If you score eight and then you don't score any more and get beat, you have to wait for another full moon to win a game," Giants manager Felipe Alou said.

Morris (11-7) couldn't explain his troubles, even after watching video of every pitch. St. Louis' potent lineup eventually got within a run in the ninth, but San Francisco's bullpen avoided an even bigger debacle than Morris' performance.

"Even with our (lineup), it's tough to win that ballgame," Morris said. "I thought they were halfway decent pitches. Obviously not. It's putrid. It's tough to swallow for me."

Jim Edmonds tied a career high with four hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs. Scott Rolen also homered, but the Cardinals' rally fell just short as their five-game winning streak was snapped.

Morris pitched a shutout against the Giants last Sunday, but he walked leadoff hitter Durham and never recovered. He had won four straight starts and seven of his last eight before this collapse, which raised the longtime staff ace's ERA from 4.33 to 4.82 in two-thirds of an inning.

"Matt, I don't know what to say," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "That's a lot of runs. I don't even begin to try to explain it."

Moments after Rolen hit his 24th homer off Giants closer Matt Herges in the ninth, Edmonds doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Roger Cedeno's single to trim San Francisco's early eight-run lead to 8-7.

But John Mabry grounded into a double play before Jason Christiansen gave up a single to Yadier Molina. Christiansen then got Tony Womack to ground out for his third save in four chances.