ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Kevin Jarvis had modest expectations when he made his first start in 3½ years.

"I just wanted to get deep into the ballgame and give my team a chance to win" he said Friday night after leading the Colorado Rockies past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4.

Jarvis (1-0) allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings to win for the first time since Sept. 26, 1996, when he beat the Chicago Cubs for Cincinnati.

"I didn't give up, but it took longer to get back up here than I thought it would," he said.

Jarvis, brought up from the minors earlier in the day, improved his career record to 13-19. The performance doesn't guarantee a long-term future.

"I'm not exactly here on a three-year contract," he said.

Jarvis retired 11 consecutive batters starting in the third.

"He had some anxious moments early in the game but he was able to settle down and do a great job," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said. "It was really a shot in the arm for us."

Even Cardinals starter Pat Hentgen (3-1) was impressed.

"The guy pitched a good game tonight," he said. "He did a nice job changing speeds and stayed out of the big inning. Those are the things you have to do as a starter."

Hentgen gave up six runs, eight hits and four walks in six innings. The Cardinals, 8-2 at home this year, are 4-4 overall in their last eight games.

Mark McGwire was 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI after missing seven straight games because of back pain. He has missed nine of the Cardinals' 17 games.

Colorado, which won for the sixth time in nine games, took a 4-0 lead in the first on Larry Walker's RBI single and Todd Helton's fifth home run -- Colorado's first homer in 33 innings.

"I left the ball up there and he hit it like he knew it was coming," Hentgen said.

McGwire singled in a run in the bottom half, but Jeff Cirillo's two-run single made it 6-1 in the second. Fernando Vina had an RBI single in the bottom of the second, and Fernando Tatis hit a two-run homer in the third. St. Louis has homered in 13 consecutive games.

"I hung a slider to him and you can't get away with that in any league," Jarvis said.

Game notes
Jose Jimenez got five outs for his second save. ... Darren Bragg is 2-for-20. ... Helton has hit safely in 17 of Colorado's 18 games. ... The Cardinals are 11-0 when not making an error, 0-6 when they do. ... St. Louis is 0-3 on Fridays this year. ... The Cardinals need one more home run in April to tie the record for 41 home runs in the month, set by the Atlanta Braves in 1998.