No foolin'

Morris falters for first time in four postseason starts

Morris was lit up for seven runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings. AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Matt Morris, coming off his first playoff victory, had one of his earliest exits of the season Wednesday night.

The St. Louis Cardinals' 17-game winner had two memorable duels with Arizona's Curt Schilling in the 2001 postseason and then beat Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks in the NL Division Series this year. But he came up with a dud in a Game 1 of the NL Championship Series, a 9-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Another huge game from Miguel Cairo, who is 7-for-8 in the postseason as the stand-in for injured third baseman Scott Rolen, and a two-run homer by Albert Pujols were wasted as the Cardinals were stuck in an unending game of catchup. Tino Martinez hurt the comeback effort, stranding five runners.

Morris has won 39 games the last two seasons, and in three postseason starts entering the game, he had allowed four runs in 22 innings. But he struggled during stretches of the regular season, and it became clear early on that this was going to be another one of those long days when the fastball lacked some zip and the curveball just wasn't biting.

Morris was perhaps hardest-hit among the Cardinals by the death of Darryl Kile at age 33 on June 20, and soon fell into a funk. In his last two starts before the All-Star break he gave up 11 runs in 10 2/3 innings, then declined an opportunity to pitch in the All-Star game, citing mental fatigue.

As the Cardinals roared to the NL Central title with 21 victories in their last 25 games, Morris was saddled with ugly losses in consecutive starts against the Astros -- the Cardinals' closest competition.

He righted himself in his final regular-season outing, giving up one run in seven innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, then settled down after a shaky start to beat the Diamondbacks in the opener of the division series with seven strong innings.

Morris would pitch again in Game 5 on Monday, if needed, and the Cardinals will need a lot better.

Morris walked three in the first inning as the Giants took a 1-0 lead, then surrendered six straight hits -- the biggest blow a two-run triple by Barry Bonds off a hanging curve -- with two outs in the second as San Francisco made it 5-1. Home runs by Kenny Lofton in the third and David Bell in the fifth finished Morris, who allowed only two long balls in his last five starts but gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Only two outings this season were shorter, a 3 2-3-inning appearance Sept. 15 at Houston when he allowed five runs and nine hits, and a four-inning appearance July 28 against the Cubs when he gave up six runs.

Third base was the bright spot for the Cardinals. Cairo, claimed on waivers in August 2001, has five RBIs and a game-winning hit in the division series. He was second in the NL with 19 pinch hits in the regular season and his 3-for-4 in Game 1 included a two-run homer in the sixth.

Cairo, who batted .250 in 184 regular-season at-bats, made his first out of the postseason when Tim Worrell struck him out in the eighth.

And Rolen, who sprained his left shoulder in Game 2 of the first round, was included on the roster after making marked improvement the last two days. Rolen, who matched career-highs with 31 homers and 110 RBIs, could return to the lineup as soon as Game 3 Saturday in San Francisco.

 

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