ST. LOUIS -- Woody Williams pitched two-hit ball into the seventh
inning and Mike Matheny had three hits and two RBIs as the St. Louis
Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-0 Wednesday night.

Williams, limited to 17 starts last season by a pulled muscle in his
left side, didn't allow a hit until Eric Young tripled to right with
two outs in the sixth. Eduardo Perez just missed on a diving attempt
of Young's slicing drive to the warning track.

The Brewers' only other hit against Williams (1-0) was a one-out
single by Jeffrey Hammonds in the seventh. The right-hander struck
out five and walked one in 6 2-3 innings.

Four relievers finished the five-hitter. Williams is 3-0 with an 0.93
ERA against the Brewers the last two seasons.

Williams, acquired in August 2001, is 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA in his
career at Busch Stadium and 17-5 with the Cardinals overall. His
lifetime record is 75-67.

Third baseman Scott Rolen saved a run when he grabbed Richie Sexson's
chopper down the line and made a one-hop throw to first off his back
foot for the final out of the sixth.

The Cardinals scored 11 runs Monday, their most ever in an opener at
Busch Stadium. This time, they hit five doubles off Glendon Rusch (0-
1) to score three times in the fourth and fifth.

Perez's two-run double gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead in the fourth,
Albert Pujols and Rolen had consecutive RBI doubles in the fifth, and
Matheny added a run-scoring single in each inning.

Matheny, a career .235 hitter, is 9-for-17 in his career against
Rusch.

Rusch lasted five innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits. He also
lost to the Cardinals in his final start of 2002.

The Cardinals are 2-0 for the first time since 2000, when they won
their first three games to sweep the Cubs.

Notes: Cardinals OF Eli Marrero was out of the lineup with a deep
thigh bruise after a collision with 2B Fernando Vina on a pop fly in
the opener. ... CF Jim Edmonds, recuperating from a left calf injury,
has left both of the first two games at about the midway point. Kerry
Robinson replaced him in the top of the sixth Wednesday. ... Vina,
one of the toughest hitters to strike out with 36 in 622 at-bats last
year, took two called third strikes. ... Young had two hits and is 5-
for-9 in the first two games. ... The Brewers are 3-9 the last two
seasons against the Cardinals.

box score:
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20030402_MIL@STL