Cardinals Rout D'backs 12-2

Wednesday, October 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) _ After a sensational September, Randy Johnson is off to an awful October, and the St. Louis Cardinals have won a big one for No. 57. Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen each hit monster two-run homers and the Cardinals battered Johnson for a season-worst 10 hits in six innings in a 12-2 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night in the opener of their NL division series.

Matt Morris, the number ``57'' and initials of late teammate Darryl Kile written on his hat, settled down after a shaky start to get the victory, something he failed to do in two outstanding outings against Arizona in last year's division series.

When Morris finished his seven strong innings, teammate Andy Benes hugged him in the dugout and said, ``You stood tall.''

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, looked nothing like the calm, efficient World Series champions, especially the big guy on the mound.

From the start, Johnson was not his scowling, intimidating self. His fastball never topped 95 mph. His slider had none of the nasty snap that has befuddled hitters all season. The man who is No. 4 on the career strikeout list managed to fan only four, two of them on foul third-strike bunt attempts by Morris.

With Kile's widow, Flynn, among the capacity crowd of 49,154, Edmonds launched a 424-footer to right in the first inning and Rolen hit a 427-foot shot to left-center in the third.

When Johnson left, bad turned to worse for the Diamondbacks. The Cardinals scored six runs off relievers Matt Mantei, Greg Swindell and Mike Fetters in the most one-sided postseason defeat ever for the Diamondbacks.

With two days off during the best-of-5 series, the Cardinals have to beat Johnson and/or Curt Schilling twice.

Schilling will go against Chuck Finley in Game 2 on Thursday.

Johnson had gone 5-0 with an 0.66 ERA in September and was 13-1 in his last 15 starts. In the process, he became the first NL pitcher in 17 years to win the pitching Triple Crown of victories (24), strikeouts (334) and ERA (2.32).

Morris allowed single runs in the first and third innings, then shut down the Diamondbacks. He gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked two in seven innings. It was a strong outing for the Cardinal hit hardest by Kile's death of a heart attack June 22 in his hotel room in Chicago.

A year ago, St. Louis handed Johnson his lone loss of the playoffs in Game 2 of the division series, extending his postseason losing streak to seven. He won the next five, a playoff record, three of them in the World Series.

But he was in trouble in a hurry against the powerhouse lineup of the Cardinals.

Fernando Vina, who was 3-for-5 and scored twice, began the game with a routine grounder to shortstop Tony Womack, who threw wildly to first for an error. One out later, Edmonds hit a 1-1 pitch far into the right field seats.

The two first-inning runs were more than St. Louis scored for Morris in both of his starts in last season's division series against the Diamondbacks. Arizona won those two games 1-0 and 2-1.

Edmonds was 3-for-4, with singles in the third and fifth.

The Diamondbacks had four baserunners against Morris, but managed only one run in their half of the first.

Rolen made a spectacular play at third base in the third on Junior Spivey's high chopper. Rolen leaped to get the ball. While he was falling back, threw to first, where umpire Bill Miller called the runner out.

Arizona manager Bob Brenly protested, and replays showed that Spivey appeared to reach the base just ahead of the throw.

Morris walked the next two batters. After Williams fouled out, Quinton McCracken singled to left to bring home the tying run.

The Cardinals got five hits off Johnson in the third, including Mike Matheny's two-out RBI single that made it 5-2.