The Associated Press

The 40,643 fans at Bank One Ballpark got a first-hand look at why the Arizona Diamondbacks were so eager to get Curt Schilling.

Thursday, August 03, 2000

The 40,643 fans at Bank One Ballpark got a first-hand look at why the Arizona Diamondbacks were so eager to get Curt Schilling.

Schilling pitched a six-hitter in his home debut, outdueling Greg Maddux for a 2-0 victory Tuesday night.

”It’s a lot of fun. This is what it’s all about,” Schilling said. ”We went out and did what we had to do against a guy who’s won four Cy Youngs.”

Schilling (8-6) is 2-0 since Philadelphia traded him to Arizona. He struck out four, walked one and retired the final 13 batters in his 15th career shutout.

”I think he was a little extra pumped for his debut,” Atlanta outfielder Brian Jordan said. ”He had the crowd behind him and he did just what they brought him here to do.”

Schilling, who graduated from high school in Phoenix, pitched the Diamondbacks into a virtual tie with San Francisco for the NL West lead.

Schilling shut out Atlanta for the second time this season. Arizona scored twice in the third when Jay Bell hit an RBI double with two outs and Matt Williams followed with a single.

Maddux (12-6) lost his third straight decision. He allowed five hits in six innings.

”It was a good duel,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. ”Maddux is not going to pitch better than that.”

Schilling and Maddux have started against each other seven times. Maddux won the first three and Schilling has won the last four.

Cardinals 10, Expos 7

Will Clark homered in his first start for St. Louis and Jim Edmonds connected twice at Montreal.

Clark, obtained from Baltimore on Monday to play first base while Mark McGwire is sidelined, went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs. Clark reached base in his first five plate appearances for the Cardinals before popping up in the ninth inning.

Edmonds hit a three-run homer in the third and added a two-run shot in the fifth. He tied a career high with five RBIs.

Brewers 6, Giants 4

Raul Casanova hit a tiebreaking, two-run double and Milwaukee rallied in the eighth inning to beat visiting San Francisco.

Jeromy Burnitz hit a sacrifice fly and Casanova followed with the go-ahead hit as the Brewers averted a three-game sweep.

Barry Bonds hit his 34th homer, matching Gary Sheffield for the major league lead.

Padres 5, Phillies 2

Matt Clement, still in San Diego after the trading deadline passed, stopped his three-game losing streak as the Padres won their fourth in a row.

The Padres swept the three-game series from visiting Philadelphia and matched their longest winning string of the year.

The New York Yankees were among several teams interested in getting Clement before Monday’s deadline.

Omar Daal is 0-2 in two starts since being traded from Arizona to the Phillies in the deal for Schilling.

Marlins 5, Astros 4

Pinch-hitter Henry Rodriguez blooped a double in his first at-bat for Florida, leading to Luis Castillo’s two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Rodriguez was acquired Monday from the Chicago Cubs. After Mike Lowell was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs, Castillo won it.

Julio Lugo, starting in place of second baseman Craig Biggio, had three hits for Houston. Biggio tore ligaments in his left knee Tuesday night and was put on the disabled list for the first time in his 13-year career.

Dodgers 11, Pirates 5

Shawn Green hit a three-run homer in the first inning as Los Angeles won at Pittsburgh.

By winning their final game on artificial turf this season, the Dodgers finished 87-86 overall at Three Rivers Stadium.

Darren Dreifort’s scoreless streak ended at 19 innings when Alex Ramirez homered for the Pirates.

Cubs 3, Rockies 2

Sammy Sosa hit his 33rd home run, leading off the eighth inning, as Chicago beat Colorado at Wrigley Field.

The NL player of the month for July connected off John Wasdin, sending a drive over the left-field bleachers onto Waveland Avenue. The Cubs are 15-5 since the All-Star break.

Brian Rose, obtained last Thursday from Boston, made his Rockies debut and gave up one run and four hits in six innings.