Williams continues to shine

ST. LOUIS -- Complete games have become commonplace for Woody Williams, now that he's with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Williams pitched a five-hitter and helped himself at the plate with a double and an RBI as the Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

Since coming to St. Louis last Aug. 2 from San Diego, Williams is 11-3 with four complete games and a 2.25 ERA.

That's a huge turnaround for a pitcher who had been 58-62 with six complete games for his career before the deal that sent outfielder Ray Lankford to the Padres -- a lopsided deal in favor of the Cardinals.

"It's consistent mechanics," Williams said. "You've got to trust the defense, and here it's not hard to do. It seems like when I pitch, they're on the tips of their toes."

The Cardinals took five of six over the last 10 days against their I-70 rivals, outscoring the Royals 38-16. St. Louis has won four of five overall, pulling into a first-place tie with the Reds in the NL Central.

"It's been a long time coming," manager Tony La Russa said. "I wish this was September and we'd be celebrating, but there's a lot of games to go."

The Royals (25-41) have lost four in a row and 12 of 17 and are a season-worst 16 games below .500.

"I'm glad we don't have to play them anymore," Royals manager Tony Pena said.

J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer and Eli Marrero, Fernando Vina and Williams each drove in a run for the Cardinals (38-29), who are a season best nine games above .500.

Williams (4-2) struck out six and walked one in his 10th career complete game and first of the season. Williams was helped by three double plays and his own hitting.

He doubled off Darrell May (2-4) and scored on Drew's 10th homer on an eye-level hanging curve to put the Cardinals ahead 3-1 in the third, sacrificed in the fifth to put Mike Matheny in scoring position for Vina's RBI double, and hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 5-1.

Williams also helped himself with his glove, snaring a liner right at him by pinch-hitter Michael Tucker in the eighth.

"What more do you want a pitcher to do?" La Russa said. "He swings the bat, makes fielding plays. The only thing left for him to do was maybe hit a grand slam there at the end."

A sellout crowd of 47,522 on Albert Pujols bobblehead day chanted "Woody! Woody!" several times the last few innings.

"Oh man, that's incredible," Williams said. "It's the reason you play, no doubt about it. The louder they get, the better I get."

Jim Edmonds returned from the disabled list from a wrist injury and was 1-for-3 with a double and two strikeouts for St. Louis. Edmonds lost control of his bat on his strikeout in the sixth, flinging it near the Cardinals' dugout, and Eduardo Perez pinch hit for him in the seventh.

May, who had picked up his first two victories since 1997 in his previous two starts, gave up five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. He said he hadn't worried about the team's recent woes before the start.

"I don't try to go out there with that pressure," May said. "I go out every five days to keep the game close and keep us in the game and give us a chance to win. Unfortunately it didn't happen."

The Royals scored in the third on a leadoff double by Carlos Febles and a two-out RBI single by Neifi Perez.

The Cardinals were in second place behind the Reds for 32 straight days since May 14 before finally catching up. Cincinnati lost 5-1 to the Pirates.Noteworthy

***Cardinals 1B Tino Martinez, who has soreness in his shoulder, didn't start but entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth. La Russa said he'd start Tuesday when the Cardinals begin a three-game series against the Angels.

***Cardinals SS Edgar Renteria booted two grounders, giving him six errors on the year. He had 24 errors last year. ... St. Louis' Placido Polanco singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

***To make room for Edmonds, outfielder So Taguchi was optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Taguchi, a Japanese import signed to a three-year, $3 million deal in the offseason, is 0-for-4 with the Cardinals and lasted one week in his first callup of the season.

***Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen threw long toss and then made about 30 pitches in the bullpen before the game and is expected to be available Tuesday. Isringhausen, who has 15 saves in 16 chances, hasn't pitched since June 4 due to a strained flexor muscle near his pitching elbow.