Matt Morris used to throw in the mid-90s. Now, he confuses hitters with his off-speed stuff.
Morris pitched eight solid innings, helping the Cardinals win their third straight with a 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night in St. Louis.
"I'm just trying to mix it up," Morris said. "I'm not thinking about striking guys out much."
So Taguchi and Jim Edmonds homered, and Edgar Renteria had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals. St. Louis won the opener 5-1, and has won three in a row for the first time since April 20-22, when they swept the Astros in Houston, which is also the last time they were two games above .500.
"When we're only two (games) over .500, I don't think we're clicking," manager Tony La Russa said. "We need to get 10 games over .500 to have that first click."
Morris (4-3) kept the Braves off-balance with an assortment of mostly off-speed pitches, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He beat the Braves for the first time in eight career starts after entering 0-5 with a 3.44 ERA against them.
"I just saw that today," Morris said. "I knew I hadn't had many wins, but I didn't know I didn't have any. I thought I pitched well always against them and was always in the game but was never able to get that win, so it's nice to get it tonight."
Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.
Atlanta got a two-run homer from J.D. Drew, but the Braves have lost six of seven and totaled 15 runs in that span. They have 11 hits in the first two games of the series.
"We're just not swinging the bats," third baseman Mark DeRosa said after going 0-for-4. "I'm scuffling beyond belief."
The loss ensured the Braves of losing five series in a row for the first time since Aug. 8-24, 1988. The finale of the three-game series is Thursday.
Back-to-back two-out infield hits by Reggie Sanders and Albert Pujols, and a walk to Scott Rolen set up Renteria's two-run single off Mike Hampton (0-4) in the third.
Taguchi led off the fourth with his first homer of the season.
A pair of unique doubles led to another run that made it 4-0 in the fifth. With two outs, Renteria doubled on weak grounder that deflected off the glove DeRosa, ranging far to his left, and then scooted past shortstop Jesse Garcia.
Drew slipped and fell on the wet turf trying to chase down Edmonds' drive near the warning track in right field and just missed making the catch while seated.
Drew, traded from St. Louis to Atlanta in the offseason, hit his fifth homer after Marcus Giles singled to open the sixth. The drive to right was estimated at 436 feet, longer than any Cardinals homer this year.
"It's good, it's kind of neat, I think," Drew said. "Anytime you can get them, anywhere you can get 'em, it's nice."
Edmonds hit his eighth homer in the eighth off Chris Reitsma.
Hampton lasted six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits while remaining winless in seven starts.
"When it's going like it is now, you've just got to take the positives," Hampton said. "I feel I'm throwing the ball better. Eventually, my luck is going to change."
BREWERS 4, EXPOS 3: At Milwaukee, Lyle Overbay extended his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games with a two-run double that helped Milwaukee beat Montreal. Overbay's big hit came during a four-run sixth inning that erased a 3-0 deficit.
MARLINS 5, ASTROS 2: At Houston, Dontrelle Willis pitched a six-hitter and Mike Lowell homered twice to lead Florida over Houston. Willis (4-1) got the third complete game of his career, beating Wade Miller (4-3), who left in the sixth inning because of tightness in his neck.
METS 1, DIAMONDBACKS 0: At Phoenix, Kazuo Matsui's home run to start the game gave Tom Glavine and New York the victory over Randy Johnson and Arizona. Both Glavine and Johnson allowed three hits. Glavine (5-2), who has not thrown a complete game in two years, struck out three and walked two in 7 2-3 innings. Bradon Looper pitched 1 1-3 innings for his fifth save in six chances. Johnson (3-4), pulled for a pinch hitter in the seventh, struck out seven and walked two.
PADRES 2, REDS 1: At San Diego, Brian Giles hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Brian Lawrence pitched six strong innings for San Diego. Lawrence (5-2) allowed one run and seven hits, struck out four and walked one. Cincinnati's Cory Lidle (2-3) pitched efficiently once he got out of the first, but by then he was down 2-0 after allowing Mark Loretta's one-out double followed on the next pitch by Giles' homer.
GIANTS 4, PHILLIES 3: At San Francisco, Jason Schmidt homered and allowed six hits over eight innings, leading San Francisco over Philadelphia. Pedro Feliz homered twice and Jeffrey Hammonds also connected for the Giants, who stopped the Phillies' season-high four-game winning streak. Barry Bonds failed to reach base for the first time in 31 games, going 0-for-4.