PITTSBURGH (AP) - Matt Morris pitched his second consecutive shutout and Fernando Vina and Jim Edmonds homered in a three-run second inning as the Cardinals, making sure they wouldn't need a comeback this time, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 Saturday night.

After scoring eight runs in the final three innings of their 10-8, 10-inning victory Friday night, the Cardinals jumped on Jeff Suppan for three runs in each of the first two innings.

That was more than enough support for Morris (6-3) to win for the fifth time in six starts, giving up nine hits. He had only three strikeouts, but benefited from double plays turned by the Cardinals' NL-leading defense in each of the first three innings.

The Cardinals made a series of excellent defensive plays, with Edmonds banging off the center-field wall to make an overhead catch of Kenny Lofton's drive into the right-center gap in the sixth.

Right fielder Eduardo Perez made a sliding grab of Jason Kendall's sinking line drive two innings later. First baseman Tino Martinez preserved Morris' fifth career shutout by diving to stop Brian Giles' hard-hit single down the line in the eighth with a runner on second.

The Cardinals won their fifth in seven games - they are 15-4 in PNC Park - while the Pirates lost their 15th in 20 games to fall a season's worst 10 games under .500. Pittsburgh has lost 13 of 16 at home and is 7-19 at PNC Park.

Suppan (4-5) lost his fifth straight decision since winning his first four, allowing four extra-base hits in the first two innings. Vina started the game with a triple and scored on Perez's single, then hit a one-out homer two batters ahead of Edmonds' two-run shot in the second.

Even after quickly falling behind 1-0, Suppan might have gotten out of the inning with no further scoring if he hadn't thrown wildly trying to pick Edmonds off first. The error allowed Perez to score from third, and Edgar Renteria drove in Edmonds with a single to left.

The Cardinals built on that start with another three-run inning in the second, giving them 14 runs in five innings over two games. Vina hit his fourth homer with one out and Albert Pujols doubled - his sixth hit in two games - in front of Edmonds' homer.

Morris has lasted six or more innings in each of his 11 starts and seven or more in eight of 11. He was coming off a four-hit shutout of the Cubs on May 19, a 2-0 Cardinals win, and has thrown complete games in three of his last five starts.

Lofton singled leading off the Pirates' first, extending his hitting streak to an NL-high 22 games - one of the six longest streaks in team history. He is four games shy of Danny O'Connell's modern era club record of 26 games in 1953 and five away from tying Jimmy Williams' team-record 27-game streak in 1899. Notes: Edmonds' homer was his 10th and his second in two games. ... St. Louis is 8-10 in a stretch of 26 consecutive games against the NL Central. ... Pujols failed to drive in a run for the first time in nine games. ... Morris is 3-0 in three starts at PNC Park. ... Pirates closer Mike Williams has a 14.00 ERA at home (14 runs in nine innings) and an 0.00 ERA on the road (0 runs in 10 1-3 innings).

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-05-24-03 2143EDT