Schilling allows only one hit in eight innings

ATLANTA (AP) -- This hasn't been a typical season for Curt

Schilling or Greg Maddux.

Schilling has been on the disabled list twice -- first with an

appendectomy, then a broken hand. Maddux has been hit hard in

several games, coming into his latest start with an ERA over 4.00.

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On Sunday, it was like old times.

Schilling pitched one-hit ball for eight innings and struck out

12 in a classic duel with Maddux, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks

over the Atlanta Braves 2-0 Sunday.

"Any time you go against Greg, runs are going to be at a

premium. I don't care what his numbers say," Schilling said. "He

and I have pitched some games in the past just like this. You have

to do everything correct fundamentally. You just have to push to be

the first team to score."

The Diamondbacks did that in the seventh, when Alex Cintron

broke up a scoreless game with a home run off Maddux. Cintron

scored an insurance run in the ninth, when he doubled against Kent

Mercker and came home on an RBI single by Rod Barajas.

"You've got to tip your hat," said Maddux, who allowed seven

hits in eight innings. "I just got outpitched."

Schilling (7-6) won the power-vs.-finesse matchup with a

dominating performance against the NL's best-hitting team. Marcus

Giles had the only hit off Schilling, a double in the first that

nearly cleared the wall. That was about it for the Braves' offense.

"We all know how good a pitcher he is," Giles said. "He sure

proved it today. The same with our pitcher. He threw a pretty good

game, too."

In the ninth, Matt Mantei walked Giles and allowed a single to

Gary Sheffield, who extended his hitting streak to 21 games and

brought the potential winning run to the plate. But Mantei wound up

striking out the side, whiffing Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones for

his 18th save in 20 chances.

Andruw Jones struck out four straight times -- all swinging -- and

Chipper Jones had three Ks, the two accounting for nearly half of

Atlanta's season-high 15 strikeouts.

In a telling display of Schilling's sharp stuff, the Braves went

down swinging 10 times against him. The right-hander had at least

one strikeout in every inning until the eighth, when his right knee

appeared to bother him.

After walking Mark DeRosa, Schilling stepped off the mound and

flexed his right leg. The trainer came out and examined the knee,

and Schilling was given a couple of warmup pitches to test it out

before deciding to stay in.

Pinch-hitter Javy Lopez hit a deep fly on the next pitch, but

center fielder Steve Finley caught it at the edge of the warning

track. Pinch-hitter Matt Franco flied out to in the right-field

corner on Schilling's final pitch, ending the eighth.

Schilling hasn't allowed a home run in seven starts, which was

especially impressive on this day. The Braves lead the NL in homers

and scored 10 runs in each of the first two games of the series.

The right-hander hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts,

covering 15 innings. He had 23 strikeouts in those two games.

Maddux (11-10) was coming off a miserable outing against San

Diego, one of the NL's lowest-scoring teams. He gave up 13 hits --

one short of his career high -- in just five innings of a 14-4 loss.

The four-time Cy Young winner was much better this time out.

Still, it wasn't enough to beat Schilling, who dealt a blow to

Maddux's chances of winning 15 games for a record 16th year in a

row.

Schilling had his seventh game with double-figure strikeouts,

moving past Don Drysdale for 25th place on the career strikeout

list with 2,494.

The pitching duel was quite a turn from the first two games of

the series. The Braves pounded Randy Johnson in a 10-4 victory

Friday night, then rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the

Diamondbacks 10-6 Saturday.

While Schilling was dominant, Maddux needed some defensive help

to keep Arizona off the scoreboard through the first six innings.

The Diamondbacks put together three singles in the fourth, the last

of which sent Luis Gonzalez scurrying for home.

Andruw Jones scooped up the ball in center and delivered a

near-perfect throw to catcher Henry Blanco, who was a couple of

feet up the third-base line when he made the catch and tagged

Gonzalez simultaneously.

Game notes
The Braves were shut out for only the fourth time this year

-- the first since April 19. The two hits were a season low. ...

Barajas was back in the lineup, two days after the catcher was

struck on the right thumb by a foul tip. "He made an amazing

recovery," manager Bob Brenly said. ... Arizona 2B Junior Spivey,

who came in with a .526 career average against the Braves, was

hitless in three at-bats. He reached base when Maddux plunked him

with a pitch in the third. ... Maddux will probably get eight more

starts this season. He needs to win four to eclipse Cy Young, the

only other pitcher to win at least 15 games in 15 consecutive

seasons.