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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Matt Morris started the game with a lot of questions. He ended up with all the right answers.

	Morris

Morris, activated from the disabled list before the game, allowed one run in five innings Tuesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-3.

"You don't want to lose your stuff,'' he said. "My arm and shoulder, elbow, knock on wood, were fine.''

Morris (16-7), who went on the disabled list Aug. 24 after straining his left hamstring the previous day against Philadelphia, allowed five hits, struck out three and walked one. He threw 74 pitches, 44 for strikes.

Milwaukee's only run off him came on Jim Rushford's RBI single in the second.

"It was just getting over that lead lag,'' he said after the Cardinals went ahead for good, scoring four times in the fourth as Eduardo Perez hit a three-run homer.

"Beside that, being sharp and just trying to make pitches, on top of everything,'' he said. "I was happy with the way it went.''

Scott Rolen had a solo shot for the Cardinals, who have won seven straight for the first time since a nine-game streak from Sept. 8-22 last year.

The Cardinals' offensive power is not unexpected when Morris pitches. St. Louis came in averaging 4.8 runs in his previous 28 starts.

"Defensively we're solid and with the lineup we have, I wouldn't want to face us,'' he said.

St. Louis maintained a 5½-game lead over second-place Houston in the NL Central.

While the Cardinals had four hits in the fourth and scored four runs, the Brewers had four consecutive hits off Morris in the second and scored just once.

Brewers manager Jerry Royster said it just typical of how his team can't manufacture any runs.

"It's not frustrating in September,'' he said. "We've seen it in April, May, June, July and every other month.''

The Brewers' 51-94 record is the worst in the National League.

Milwaukee went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, making them 3-for-32 in their last three games.

Wayne Franklin (0-1), making his first major league start, allowed six runs -- five earned -- and six hits in five-plus innings. He looked sharp in the first three innings when he retired nine of the first 10 batters. But, it didn't last.

"A couple of base hits, a home run,'' Royster said. "That's the way it goes. That's why they are in first place.''

After Perez's 10th homer, St. Louis added a run later in the inning when Edgar Renteria stole second, took third when catcher Robert Machado's throw went wide and high into center field and came around when Jeffrey Hammonds' throw went past third for another error.

Mike Matheny hit a two-run single off Nelson Figueroa in the sixth for a 6-2 lead.

Milwaukee trimmed the deficit to just three runs on shortstop Renteria's throwing error in the sixth.

Hammonds doubled off Rick White. Two outs later, he scored when shortstop Renteria fielded Jose Hernandez's broken-bat roller and threw wide to first. That run ended a 34 2/3 inning scoreless streak for the St. Louis bullpen.

Keith Ginter had an RBI double off Luther Hackman in the seventh. Miguel Cairo's squeeze bunt scored So Taguchi in the eighth and Rolen homered off Jose Cabrera in the ninth.

Albert Pujols went 2-for-4 with two runs scored while playing for the second time in four days as he plays through the lingering affects of muscle spasms in his left shoulder and side.

Game notes

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the former auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... After Monday night's game, official scorer Tim O'Driscoll changed an eighth-inning throwing error on St. Louis 2B Fernando Vina to a hit for PH Lenny Harris. ... Franklin and Ginter were acquired from Houston for Mark Loretta on Aug. 31. Franklin was 13-9 in 27 starts and two relief appearances at Triple-A New Orleans.