"It's nice," Carpenter said of the wins. "Obviously with everything I went through, it's nice to be healthy and helping the team win games. I hope to get some more and keep on going."
The victory also gave the squad its fourth victory in five games, seventh straight home series win and pushed the division lead to a season-high 6 1/2 games over the Reds. It also lowered the Cardinals' magic number to clinch the National League Central to single digits at nine.
"We still have to take it one game at a time until that number reaches zero," Carpenter said. "We have to win [Sunday], and then we go on the road against some clubs that have played us really well."
For Carpenter, though, Saturday's win was one he will remember for a long time. Morris, a Cardinals draft pick and longtime Redbird, became very close to Carpenter over the past few seasons.
The two still work out together in the offseason. When Morris came to bat in the second, Carpenter stepped off the mound and waited for his friend to receive a standing ovation.
"He absolutely deserves it," Carpenter said of the applause. "He did a lot for this team and he is always going to be a Cardinal."
Facing his friend for the first time, Carpenter, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, kept pace with Brandon Webb in the race for this year's hardware. Carpenter (15-6) is one win behind Webb, but his 2.79 ERA leads the league.
"When you look at the games that Carp could have won [but didn't get run support], he would be over 20 wins," pitching coach Dave Duncan said, filling in for manager Tony La Russa at the postgame press conference. "He has had as good of a year as he had last year. ... There also has to be some merit to the fact that we are on a winning team."
Carpenter worked into the eighth inning and permitted just one run, one day after the Diamondbacks sinkerballer tossed a complete game.
However, the lone tally wasn't even Carpenter's fault. Todd Linden led off the eighth with a fly ball that Juan Encarnacion lost in the sun. Linden ended up with a triple and scored on an RBI single, ending Carpenter's streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings at home.
Still, the outing lowered Carpenter's home ERA to a Major League-best 1.46 and helped the Redbirds remain ahead of the Dodgers in the race for home-field advantage in the Divisional Series.
The start also saw Carpenter use all of his pitches effectively, especially his ever-maturing curveball. Over his past five home starts, the right-hander has recorded a 4-0 record and 0.65 ERA.
"He threw a different style than what he normally does," Duncan said. "He threw a lot of breaking balls and that gives him an advantage against the Giants."
After permitting two hits and two walks in the first two innings, the ace throttled the Giants, allowing just one baserunner until the eighth. He constantly worked ahead, throwing 75-percent first-pitch strikes.
"Everything was good today," Carpenter said. "My sinker was down, my curveball was good. I kept them off-balance and worked both sides of the plate."
And he received all the offensive support he needed in the first inning. Aaron Miles led off with his first of two triples and scored on an Albert Pujols RBI single.
"I felt at home in a Giants uniform, and it felt like just another game," Morris said. "The new ballpark helped -- there's not so much history behind me. I thought I was pretty calm going into the game and just tried to make pitches. In that first inning -- that has been my nemesis."
Four batters later, Encarnacion continued the troubles, lining a curveball into the left-field bullpen for a three-run homer.
"I just tried to see the ball and put a good swing on it," Encarnacion said.
Pujols, who finished with four hits, provided insurance in the fifth with a single. Scott Rolen also drove in two runs, giving him nine RBIs in the past two games.
Carpenter did the rest, spreading 114 pitches and 74 strikes over the outing and giving him his ninth quality start and eighth win in the second half.
"He is one of the best pitchers," Encarnacion said. "All he needs is a couple of runs."
