Williams hurls Cardinals past Diamondbacks

St. Louis defeats Arizona 6-3 behind right-hander.

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Woody Williams pitched seven shutout innings to extend his scoreless streak this season to 19 2-3 innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 Friday night for their fifth victory in six games.

Edgar Renteria homered and doubled and Tino Martinez had two hits, a walk and an RBI for St. Louis in the first meeting against Arizona since the Cardinals swept the Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs.

The Cardinals, who entered the game with an NL-leading .309 average, had five doubles despite missing Albert Pujols, who has a sprained right elbow and could be limited to pinch hit duties for three weeks.

Williams (3-0) didn't allow a baserunner until he hit David Delluci to start the fifth and didn't allow a hit until Lyle Overbay's broken-bat single to the opposite field with one out in the fifth. He struck out five and walked none and has not allowed a run in three starts this season.

Williams is 19-5 since the Cardinals acquired him from the Padres in August 2001 and has allowed three or fewer runs in 26 of his last 27 regular-season starts. During that span, he has a 1.86 ERA.

The NL West champion Diamondbacks avoided their third shutout of the season when Steve Finley hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth. Arizona (5-12) had been coming off consecutive victories for the first time of the season.

Diamondbacks starter Elmer Dessens (1-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings. He has won only once in his last 12 starts, going 0-5 during that stretch, although he beat the Brewers on April 13.

Eli Marrero and Mike Matheny hit consecutive RBI doubles and Fernando Vina had a run-scoring single in the second.

Back-to-back doubles by Renteria and Martinez made it 4-0 in the third, Jim Edmonds had an RBI double in the fourth and Renteria hit his fourth homer in the seventh off Stephen Randolph.

Notes: Pujols walked as a pinch hitter in the eighth. ... Lyle Overbay singled in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, tied for the longest by a Diamondbacks rookie with Travis Lee (1998). ... The Diamondbacks used their 16th starting lineup in 17 games. Dellucci, who has 24 home runs in five season, batted cleanup for the second straight game. ... LHP Rick Ankiel won his first game for Double-A Tennessee on Thursday night, allowing no hits in 1 2-3 innings with one strikeout and one walk. ... Cardinals pitchers are batting .343 (12-for-35) with three walks and only six strikeouts, including a single by Williams in the second.