ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Mike Matheny, Edgar Renteria and the St. Louis

Cardinals can win with singles, doubles and triples, too.

In Game 1, the Cardinals tied a postseason record with five home

runs. They stayed in the ballpark for Game 2 on Thursday, but the

result was exactly the same: another 8-3 win over the Los Angeles

Dodgers.

"I think we're capable of playing a lot of different ways,"

manager Tony La Russa said. "Sometimes you take whatever the

pitcher gives you."

A trio of MVP candidates has carried the Cardinals' offense much

of the year, with Scott Rolen, Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds each

driving in 100 runs. Those three were 1-for-11 in Game 2, but the

bottom of the order picked them up by going 8-for-10 with five RBI

and five runs scored.

"It's always nice to take a little pressure off those guys and

make them feel like they don't have to carry us every game,"

Matheny said. "It's amazing to watch those guys day in and day

out, to see how consistent they are."

Following a sweep at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals will head to

Dodger Stadium with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five NL playoff

series. The third game will be Saturday night, with Matt Morris

trying to wrap it up against Jose Lima.

"It's not going to be easy, that's for sure," Dodgers manager

Jim Tracy said. "But I'm not going to sit here and say it can't be

done."

Milton Bradley, Shawn Green and Jayson Werth homered for the

Dodgers, who lost their eighth straight playoff game and remained

winless in the postseason since beating Oakland in the 1988 World

Series. Los Angeles dropped to 0-5 at St. Louis this year.

The Cardinals combined eight singles, two doubles and one

triple, and the closest they came to a home run was Tony Womack's

triple off the base of the wall in the second and a drive to the

wall by winning pitcher Dan Haren.

Seven of their eight runs scored with two outs as St. Louis used

a small-ball approach to chase Jeff Weaver in the fifth inning.

"They made things happen when they got men on base," Weaver

said. "Vice versa, we didn't do that. It was the bottom of the

order that hurt us."

Matheny, the No. 8 hitter, became the first Cardinals player to

get four RBI in a division series game with two-run singles in the

fifth and seventh. Matheny is a career .239 hitter, but is

15-for-39 (.385) during an 11-game postseason hitting streak.

Renteria, the No. 6 hitter, was 3-for-4. His two-out, go-ahead

single was the key blow in a three-run fifth that broke a tie and

put St. Louis ahead 6-3.

Reggie Sanders was 3-for-3 and scored twice in the No. 7 slot.

"It is gratifying to have the bottom of the order come

through," Sanders said. "This is a collective effort."

The Cardinals overcome a shaky outing by 15-game winner Jason

Marquis, making his first career postseason start. He couldn't hold

a 3-1 second-inning lead, allowing homers to Werth in the first and

to Green and Bradley on consecutive at-bats to start the fourth.

The homer by Bradley, the Dodgers' troubled right fielder who

had a run-in with a Los Angeles reporter on the off-day Wednesday,

was a drive estimated at 461 that ricocheted off the right-field

scoreboard.

Marquis lasted only 3 1-3 innings -- his shortest outing of the

year -- and allowed three homers for the second time of the year.

Both came against the Dodgers and both had added pressure -- his

Sept. 10 outing in Los Angeles came on the day his first daughter,

Reese, was born, and he was unable to get a flight in time to be

present for the birth.

Haren worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with three

strikeouts. He's projected to be in the rotation next year, with

both Morris and Game 1 starter Woody Williams eligible for free

agency.

"Dan, he's a cool dude," La Russa said. "He's tough as nails

and gave us two good innings."

Marquis was done after a one-out walk to David Ross in the

fourth, but the Dodgers missed their best chance to break the game

open. Cal Eldred walked Cesar Izturis and Werth with two outs and

went to a 3-0 count against Steve Finley before getting him on a

fly out to center on a full-count pitch.

"That was our opportunity and I think that was a big key to the

game," Tracy said. "If we can get the lead there, we put

ourselves in a pretty good position."

Weaver made his first career postseason start and endured his

second straight shaky postseason outing, giving up six runs on

eight hits in 4 2-3 innings. Last year, he was with the Yankees and

surrendered a 12th-inning, game-winning homer to Alex Gonzalez of

the Marlins in the pivotal Game 4 of the World Series.

Weaver worked around two walks in the first when he struck out

Edmonds for the final out. He had another shaky inning in the

second and the Cardinals capitalized, with the first run scoring on

Weaver's wild pickoff throw to first.

With two outs, Tony Womack hit an RBI triple off the right-field

wall and Larry Walker followed with a run-scoring double just

inside the first-base line for a 3-1 lead.Game notes
Weaver faced the Cardinals twice in September and was 0-0

despite allowing nine earned runs in 13 innings. ... Marquis was

1-3 with a 5.34 ERA in his last five regular-season starts. ... The

game lasted 3 hours, 36 minutes, the longest in division play for

the Cardinals. ... The Cardinals' bullpen has allowed one run in 8

2-3 innings in the first two games of the series.