ST. LOUIS -- Four games into their most uncertain season in nearly a decade, the Cardinals have already reached a height they never scaled in last year's world title defense.

They're two games over .500.

Thanks in large part to yet another fine performance by a starting pitcher, St. Louis won its third straight game on Friday, 5-4 over Washington, to improve to 3-1 on the season. At no point in 2007 were the Redbirds two games above the break-even mark.

This time it was Braden Looper, pitching six excellent innings and making the Cardinals' rotation 4-for-4 in effective outings. Looper held Washington to a single run on three hits, striking out three and walking two. The right-hander got 12 outs on the ground, versus just three in the air. Only three balls left the infield over Looper's six innings.

"If I can get the ground balls, that's my game," Looper said. "I'm never going to strike out 15 in a game. I mean, it would be nice, but my game is ground balls and letting the guys play behind me. That's what I do."

Through four games, the Cardinals' rotation is 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA. The starter has left the game with a lead in each of the four games. They've combined for 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 22 2/3 innings, and have allowed one home run.

All of it without an official start by pro tempore ace Adam Wainwright, and, of course, with four starters on the disabled list. Not that Looper wants to hear any of that line of thinking.

"I'm just going out there trying to do my thing, trying to do my job," Looper said. "All that will play itself out. I think there's going to be some guys that are pitching right now in the rotation [later in the year]. I don't think there will be four new guys."

If they all keep pitching the way they have been, they will at least make the decisions difficult when the injured guys start coming back.

After Looper handed the ball to the bullpen, it got a little bit dicey, but the threat against the St. Louis relief corps again was more smoke than fire. Cardinals relievers have allowed runs in three of the team's four games, but they've also held the lead in three of four games.

"There are some signs there that we may pitch well," manager Tony La Russa said. "I think Braden did a really good job getting as deep as he got, but we've got to make sure we don't wear out those relievers, either."

A former starter, by the way, gave Looper the lead that he made stand. Rick Ankiel's second home run of the season got things going. After Brian Barton led off the game for the Redbirds with a double against Odalis Perez, Ankiel cranked the first pitch Perez threw him deep to right field.

"I was just trying to get the guy over to third, and he gave me a pitch on the inner half," Ankiel said.

Albert Pujols followed with a double but was stranded there when the inning ended.

Washington cobbled together a run in the top of the fourth, but in the bottom half of the frame, the Cardinals stretched their lead back out. Looper's groundout to the right side with two men on made it 3-1, and Aaron Miles singled for the fourth run. A Yadier Molina single in the fifth made it 5-1.

Four straight Nationals reached base to open the seventh, as neither Russ Springer nor Ron Villone recorded an out. Rookie Kyle McClellan allowed a walk and a single off Troy Glaus' glove, but emerged with a one-run lead still in place.

The Cardinals could actually have broken it open much more. They left a runner on base in each of the first five innings and went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.