Apr 8, 2002 11 min read

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Curt Schilling has never been more dominant than he was Sunday. He struck out a career-high 17 and threw his second career one-hitter in overpowering Milwaukee and leading the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Brewers 2-0.

“I don’t know if he can pitch any better,” Brewers manager Davey Lopes said. “And if he can I don’t want to see it.”

But Eric Young swears he’s seen Schilling sharper than this.

“It was on TV,” Young said. “In the World Series.”

Schilling had three stellar starts in the World Series, where he was named co-MVP with fellow ace Randy Johnson.

Schilling was so motivated by his postseason performance that he vowed to approach the new season with similar ferocity. And it’s produced 16 shutout innings, and only seven hits and two walks to go with 26 strikeouts.

“My goal going into spring training this year was to be where I was in October last year,” Schilling said. “I feel that in my first two starts I’ve done that.”

Schilling (2-0) allowed only Raul Casanova’s clean single to right field in the second inning. He did not permit a runner to reach second base.

The shutout was the Diamondbacks’ third of the season in six games.

Schilling was so dominating that fans took to cheering foul balls in the latter innings.

Schilling struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced and fanned the side in the third and fifth innings. He outdueled Ben Sheets (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits in seven innings.

Giants 10, Padres 1

SAN FRANCISCO – Livan Hernandez didn’t need Barry Bonds.

With Bonds given a day off, Hernandez pitched a four-hitter, had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the San Francisco Giants over the San Diego Padres.

The Giants (6-0), the only unbeaten team in the major leagues, are off to their best start since 1930 and have outscored opponents 41-5.

Jeff Kent, in his second day back from the disabled list, hit his first home run of the year and drove in two runs.

Hernandez (2-0) struck out five and walked one in his first complete game since last Aug. 17, retiring 11 straight at one point. He is batting .714 (5-for-7) with three RBIs – only three Giants have driven in more runs.

Mark Kotsay had two hits and drove in the only run for the Padres, who have lost five of six. D’Angelo Jimenez tripled in the first and Kotsay singled him home. The Padres never got another runner past first base.

Astros 7, Cardinals 6

HOUSTON – Daryle Ward’s leadoff home run in the 12th inning gave the Houston Astros a come-from-behind victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Luther Hackman (0-1) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 11th. But the next inning, Ward hit an 0-1 pitch off the right-field foul pole for his second home run.

Ricky Stone (1-0) pitched two hitless innings and struck out three for the victory.

The Astros rallied for three runs in the ninth off Mike Timlin to tie it at 6.

Jeff Bagwell hit an RBI double with two outs and Lance Berkman was intentionally walked to load the bases. Richard Hidalgo followed with a two-run single to tie it, then Ward grounded out to send the game into extra innings.

Jim Edmonds hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals and also stole home as part of a ninth-inning double steal.

Braves 5, Mets 2

ATLANTA – Marcus Giles hit a three-run homer in the 14th inning Sunday to lead the Atlanta Braves over the New York Mets and avoid a three-game sweep.

Giles hit his first homer of the season off Saturo Komiyama (0-1), the Mets seventh pitcher, to end the 4-hour, 59-minute game, the longest at Turner Field, which opened in 1997.

Gary Sheffield was hit by a pitch opening the 14th and took second on a passed ball by Vance Wilson, playing because Mike Piazza bruised his left leg Saturday.

Vinny Castilla struck out, Julio Franco was walked intentionally and Giles hit his 370-foot drive over the left-field fence.

Albie Lopez (1-1), Atlanta’s eighth pitcher, pitched two scoreless innings.

Reds 6, Expos 5

CINCINNATI – Ken Griffey Jr. partially dislocated his right kneecap during a rundown and left the Cincinnati Reds’ 6-5, 10-inning win over the Montreal Expos.

There was no immediate word on how long Griffey would be sidelined. He also strained the patella tendon in his right leg.

Griffey was to undergo an MRI test. He was not scheduled to leave with Cincinnati the Reds for their road trip, which starts in Pittsburgh on Monday.

The All-Star center fielder, who was bothered during spring training by tendinitis in the same knee, was hurt as he was being tagged by Expos third baseman Chris Truby in the seventh inning.

Griffey went down holding his knee and was briefly attended to by Cincinnati medical personnel before limping gingerly off the field.

Last year, the All-Star center fielder missed most of the first three months because of a partially torn left hamstring.

Griffey’s first home run of the season had given the Reds a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

Phillies 3, Marlins 2

PHILADELPHIA – Pat Burrell led off the 11th inning with a home run against Braden Looper, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a victory over the Florida Marlins.

Cliff Floyd’s homer off Jose Mesa in the ninth gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead. But the Phillies tied it when Burrell’s single set up Mike Lieberthal’s one-out RBI single.

Cliff Politte (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings. He retired Derrek Lee on a fly to right with the bases loaded to end the 10th.

Burrell, 3-for-20 to that point, hit a 1-0 pitch from Looper (0-2) into the left-field bullpen for his second homer.

Marlins starter Ryan Dempster allowed one run and five hits in eight innings. He left with the lead after Floyd hit Mesa’s second pitch into the upper deck in right field, snapping an 0-for-10 slump.

Florida manager Jeff Torborg used four pitchers in the ninth, but none could get the save as the Marlins’ bullpen again struggled.

Dodgers 6, Rockies 4

LOS ANGELES – Kevin Brown rebounded from a horrible opening-day performance with seven shutout innings and also homered to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Colorado Rockies.

Los Angeles outscored the Rockies 24-6 and outhit them 33-18 in sweeping a three-game series. The Dodgers had opened with three losses to San Francisco, getting outscored 24-2 and outhit 27-9.

Brown (1-1) allowed seven earned runs and nine hits in four innings of a 9-2 loss Tuesday. Against Colorado, he gave up four hits, struck out five and walked none, allowing only one runner to reach second base.

Brown was 3-for-4 at the plate with his second career homer. He faced only one batter over the minimum because catcher Chad Kreuter threw out two runners trying to steal and the Dodgers turned a double play behind him. Brown threw 57 of 79 pitches for strikes before turning over a 6-0 lead to Paul Quantrill at the start of the eighth.

Indians 5, Tigers 1

DETROIT – For C.C. Sabathia, having no-hit stuff for seven innings is nothing new. It was trying for an eighth inning that proved to be the challenge.

Sabathia, who pitched 11 seven-inning no-hitters in high school, had his no-hit bid stopped by Randall Simon’s single leading off the eighth inning, and the Cleveland Indians went on to beat the winless Detroit Tigers.

“I threw him a slider and he got it,” Sabathia said. “I’d been throwing him sliders all game, and I should have figured out that he would make the adjustment.”

Sabathia got 11 outs on flyballs and popups, which he credited to Comerica Park and the 42-degree weather. Center fielder Milton Bradley had nine putouts.

“It’s a big ballpark on a cold day,” he said. “No one wants to hit one on the fists or off the end of the bat on a day like this, so I was throwing them inside and off the plate. I don’t think my stuff was any better than usual, but I got a lot of flyballs to center field.”

Sabathia woke up Sunday feeling miserable, but it didn’t show from his performance.

“I had a really sore throat and I just didn’t feel good,” he said. “I wasn’t looking forward to going out in 40-degree weather again.”

After Simon lined a clean single to center on the first pitch of the eighth, Jose Macias hit into a double play. Wendell Magee reached on an infield single and Andres Torres had an RBI triple for his first major league hit.

“C.C. was sailing along until Simon got that hit, and then I thought he lost a little bit of concentration,” Indians manager Charlie Manuel said. “But he pitched a fine, fine game. I’ll have to get him sick every day.”

Paul Shuey and Bob Wickman finished the four-hitter, completing Cleveland’s first sweep at Detroit since 1996. Wickman entered with the bases loaded and got his third save when Simon grounded into a game-ending double play.

Yankees 7, Devil Rays 2

NEW YORK – Roger Clemens completed a near perfect turn through New York’s rotation, allowing one earned run in 7 1-3 innings as the Yankees swept the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with a win.

Jason Giambi drove in his first run with the Yankees and Derek Jeter had three hits and three RBIs for New York, which has won five straight since losing 10-3 on opening day in Baltimore.

Yankees starting pitchers had not allowed a run since that game until the Devil Rays scored an unearned run in the sixth. That snapped New York’s 23-inning scoreless streak and a 33 1-3-inning stretch by the starters. The Devil Rays ended their own 26-inning scoreless run.

The stellar pitching has been important for the Yankees, with Giambi still trying to get comfortable with his new team. Giambi, 3-for-21 this season, got a standing ovation after his run-scoring single in the eighth. Giambi, who has been booed much of his first weekend in New York, laughed as he left for pinch-runner Ron Coomer.

Red Sox 4, Orioles 1

BALTIMORE – Pedro Martinez won for the first time since last May 30, rebounding from an awful opening day performance to pitch six strong innings and lead the Boston Red Sox over the Baltimote Orioles.

Martinez (1-0), coming off a season shortened to 18 starts by shoulder pain, allowed one unearned run and three hits, struck out five and walked one. Shea Hillenbrand backed him with a pair of two-run homers.

Pitching against a team in a horrid hitting slump, it was a vast improvement from Martinez’s first outing, when the right-hander gave up seven earned runs and nine hits in three innings against Toronto.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed only one runner past second base and retired his final seven batters. Martinez threw 85 pitches, 54 for strikes, in lowering his ERA from 21.00 to 7.00.

He had been winless in his previous eight starts since beating the New York Yankees 3-0. That was the night Martinez brought up the famous curse against the Red Sox, saying “Wake up the Bambino. Maybe I’ll drill him in the (behind).”

Twins 10, Blue Jays 6

TORONTO – Early run production has the Minnesota Twins off to a strong start.

Corey Koskie hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Torii Hunter also had three RBIs as the Twins won their third straight, over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Dustan Mohr and David Ortiz also homered for the Twins, who won three of four against Toronto.

The Twins, off to a 5-1 start, have scored first in all six games this season.

“It’s been said here forever, you have to be ready to play the first inning, and right now we’re doing some good things early,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Staked to a 4-0 lead in first, Brad Radke (1-0) didn’t allow a hit until Carlos Delgado hit a bloop double with one out in the fourth.

Royals 9, White Sox 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Chuck Knoblauch snapped an 0-for-16 skid with a two-run double in the seventh inning, sending Jeff Suppan and the Kansas City Royals over the Chicago White Sox.

A day after Kansas City lost 14-0 to the White Sox, Suppan (1-0) held them to one run on six hits and no walks in seven innings. The only run he allowed came on Frank Thomas’ broken-bat homer in the first.

The Royals took a 3-1 lead into the seventh before breaking it open against three relievers.