ST. LOUIS -- While his teammates were going bombs-away on Matt Cain and the Giants bullpen Friday night, Todd Wellemeyer quietly posted the best game of his career.

Again.

Wellemeyer, reinvented as a starting pitcher, shut down the Giants for seven innings as the Cardinals beat San Francisco, 11-1, at Busch Stadium. Wellemeyer equaled a career best with seven innings pitched, fell one strikeout short of a personal record with six, and generally controlled the game en route to his third win in four starts this season.

Waived by the Royals last year, Wellemeyer has worked his way from emergency bullpen filler to rotation stalwart in less than a year. Fifteen starts into his career, he looks like a new pitcher -- even compared to when he was at his best as a reliever.

"I always felt like I had it in me, and it was just a matter of getting innings at the Major League level," Wellemeyer said. "That's all I ever wanted. Be it out of the bullpen or starting, just to be able to go out there and play is huge for me."

Wellemeyer issued a statement of purpose from the start when he struck out the side in order in the first inning. A 1-2-3 second followed, though Wellemeyer was working hard to get the outs. What may stand out most, in fact, is that he kept it going for seven full innings.

In his previous two starts, including one six days earlier against the Giants, Wellemeyer faded quickly in his last inning. On Friday, he was determined not to let up. With only one hit allowed over his final three frames, he lived up to his expectation -- and that of the entire St. Louis pitching staff.

"We actually all went in and had a meeting about it," he said. "Staying focused is the big thing. Don't think too far ahead. Every inning is a new inning. We're pitching so good through five, six innings. We want to make sure that everybody's still focused going into the seventh, eighth inning."

By the fifth, Wellemeyer had enough runs that he would have been forgiven a fade. Albert Pujols' mammoth three-run homer was the big blow in a six-run fourth that put the game out of reach at 9-1.

Starter Matt Cain got the first two outs of the fourth with only a single allowed, but Cesar Izturis doubled to keep the inning alive. Skip Schumaker singled in two runs to stretch what had been a 3-1 lead. After Chris Duncan walked, Pujols drilled a fastball from Cain into the third deck in left field, an estimated 424 feet for his fourth dinger of the year. Three batters later, Adam Kennedy's double scored Rick Ankiel to cap the outburst.

It was a drastic turnaround from last weekend, when Cain no-hit the Cardinals through the first six innings.

"You've got to be aggressive and not let him get ahead in the count, because then it gets really tough to hit him," said Schumaker, who has shaken off an 0-for-16 start with a torrid 17-for-36 (.472) streak. "We put together some good at-bats tonight and got lucky a couple times and it worked out for us. But that's probably not going to happen again the rest of the time against a guy like that. He's very good."

Wellemeyer wouldn't have allowed even a single run if not for Fred Lewis' single that hit Wellemeyer on the behind in the third inning. He issued a leadoff walk to Jose Castillo, which was followed by a sacrifice and a swinging bunt. With two outs and Castillo on third, Lewis hit a comebacker that caromed off Wellemeyer and went for a base hit. Otherwise, it would have been the first time in Wellemeyer's career that he lasted more than five innings and did not give up a run.

"I felt good at the end of last year, and I had some good starts before I got hurt," Wellemeyer said. "It's a confidence-builder from last year, going into spring, and then feeling good in spring and carrying it over here."

The Cardinals improved to 12-5 on the year, equaling their season-best mark at seven games over .500. They remain 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cubs and Brewers, who are tied for second place in the National League Central and who both won Friday.