St. Louis ? Matt Morris is starting to feel like his old self on the mound for the first time since the death of good friend Darryl Kile.

He allowed one run in eight innings as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Thursday.

Morris (11-6) won for the first time in five starts. He struck out eight and walked one while holding the Giants to just one run.

“I erased all my stats from the first half,” said Morris, whose locker was next to Kile’s. “I take it day by day, game by game. I feel good physically. Taking off those three days helped my back.”

Morris was 0-2 since his last win, June 19 against Anaheim three days before Kile died in his sleep in a Chicago hotel room.

Last Saturday, Morris pitched seven innings but got no decision at San Diego where he allowed one run on four hits.

“It’s confidence,” Morris said. “I stopped worrying about what I’m doing on the mound as far as mechanics and went to throwing the baseball. I’ve been gifted with the talents to throw the baseball and I’d been thinking too much out there. I think that works for me.

“I get in a groove and then three or four innings later, I’m able to make better pitches and I get sharper. It carries me into the seventh and eighth inning.”

Braves 3, Marlins 1

Atlanta Tom Glavine (12-5) won for the first time in six starts. Florida, the only winless team in the major leagues since the All-Star break, hasn’t won since trading away slugger Cliff Floyd and pitcher Ryan Dempster on July 11. Atlanta won its third straight allowing just one run during that span and improved to 16-0-4 in its past 20 series. That’s the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing the Boston Beaneaters’ 19-game run in 1897.

Expos 2, Mets 1

Montreal Vladimir Guerrero hit his third homer in two games, a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that led Montreal over New York, ending the Mets’ four-game winning streak. Bartolo Colon (3-0) scattered 13 hits for his second straight complete game, his sixth of the season. It was the most hits allowed in a complete-game win since Jim Abbott for the Chicago White Sox on July 18, 1995.

Cubs 6, Phillies 4

Philadelphia Matt Clement allowed two runs in 61â3 innings and Fred McGriff hit a three-run homer to lead Chicago over Philadelphia. The Cubs snapped a two-game losing streak, winning for the sixth time in nine games since Bruce Kimm replaced Don Baylor as manager. The Phillies, who won five of six coming in, would have been within four games of .500 for the first time since May 13 if they won. Clement (8-6) gave up five hits, struck out eight and walked four to win for the third time in four starts.

Astros 4, Brewers 2

Milwaukee Jeff Bagwell hit a tiebreaking two-run double off Jamey Wright (2-9) in the eighth inning as Houston beat Milwaukee. After the Astros tied it in the sixth, on RBI singles by Bagwell and Craig Biggio, the bullpen shut the Brewers down. The last 12 Brewers were retired in order. Brandon Puffer relieved starter Pete Munro and struck out four of his five batters. Pedro Borbon (3-2) retired the only batter he faced in the seventh, Octavio Dotel pitched the eighth and Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his 17th save.

Rockies 6, D’backs 4

Denver Juan Uribe broke a tie with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning as Colorado defeated Arizona. Larry Walker went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk as he improved his batting average to .349. Making his 100th career start, John Thomson allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.

Reds 7, Pirates 5

Pittsburgh Jason LaRue hit a grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning after an intentional walk, capping a five-run burst that carried Cincinnati past Pittsburgh. Even after LaRue homered, the Reds still needed left fielder Russell Branyan’s run-saving catch in Pittsburgh’s three-run eighth to wrap up their fourth victory in five games.

Padres 4, Dodgers 1

Los Angeles Brett Tomko came within four outs of his first career shutout and San Diego sent sputtering Los Angeles to its eighth loss in nine games. Tomko (5-6), who came to the Padres on Dec. 11 in a six-player trade with Seattle, allowed a run and five hits in eight innings.