Liter22
04-03-2002, 12:53 AM
Form espn.com
PHOENIX (AP) _ Two games, two shutouts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Life is good with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling on the mound.
Schilling picked up where Johnson left off by throwing seven scoreless innings and Damian Miller hit a grand slam Tuesday night as the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 9-0.
"I'm not complaining," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "When you get your two big guys going out there pitching the way they did the last two days, and the offense coming through.
"And the most impressive thing to me has been our defense. We played some sparkling defense behind both those guys.
Schilling, 26-6 last season counting his 4-0 postseason mark, struck out nine, allowed six hits and didn't walk a batter one night.
In Monday's opener, Johnson fanned eight and threw a six-hitter in a 2-0 shutout.
Schilling and Johnson were co-MVPs of the World Series.
"Two days into the season we're 2-0," Schilling said. "Last night it was RJ and tonight was the offense and for the most part defense. We had a huge inning."
For Schilling the most thrilling part of the night came before the game started. As he warmed up in the bullpen, the rest of the players received their World Series rings.
When it was Schilling's turn, his 6-year-old son, Gehrig, scampered out of the dugout to receive his dad's. Schilling said he had no idea that had been planned.
"I was pretty choked up actually," he said. "I had to stop throwing for a few minutes in the bullpen when I saw it. It was pretty awesome."
Young Schilling dropped the ring case on his way back to the dugout, but quickly scooped it up. It was Arizona's only bobble of the night.
In front of 48,042 _ their second sellout crowd in as many nights _ the Diamondbacks made quick work of the Padres, who are 4-20 at Bank One Ballpark since 1998.
Tony Womack singled, drove in a pair of runs with sacrifice flies, and made a leaping grab of Ramon Vazquez's line drive to end San Diego's fifth inning. Junior Spivey was 3-for-3 with a double and scored twice.
Staked a 9-0 lead after three innings, Schilling didn't lose any intensity.
"There are times when I've had that happen, but not in recent memory," he said. "If anything it's a situation where you try and intensify your focus a little bit. I was talking to RJ when I came out. That was the thing I was happiest about. I was very, very focused tonight."
Miller's fourth career slam capped a seven-run second inning for the Diamondbacks off Brian Tollberg.
With two outs, Miller smashed Tollberg's 3-0 pitch into the left-field seats.
"The skipper has shown some confidence in me, giving me the 3-0 green light," Miller said. "I got good wood on it, fortunately. I was kind of looking for the ball up. That's basically what you do in that situation. He threw it right where my barrel was."
Steve Finley opened the inning with a home run to right. Spivey singled, then was safe at second on Craig Counsell's infield hit when second baseman D'Angelo Jimenez lost his balance trying to tag second.
Schilling's bunt loaded the bases when third baseman Sean Burroughs covered third on the play and Tollberg didn't go after the ball.
"We failed to execute a fundamental," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's something you've got to do. On Schilling's bunt we failed to get an out, and that really haunted us there."
Womack drove home a run with a sacrifice fly, then Luis Gonzalez barely beat out a double play to allow the third run of the inning to score.
Mark Grace walked on four pitches to load the bases for Miller.
Tollberg lasted just 2 2-3 innings. He allowed nine runs on nine hits, walked three and struck out none.
Mark Kotsay tripled with one out in the first for the Padres, but was stranded when Ray Lankford struck out and Phil Nevin flew out to the center field wall. Vazquez led off the third with a double, but Schilling struck out the next four he faced.
Mike Myers threw the eighth, then Byung-Hyun Kim pitched a scoreless ninth in his first appearance since his debacle in Game 5 of the World Series.
"It would be nice to get a run on the board," Bochy said. "You don't want very many games like this."< ^Notes:@ The World Series rings cost about $9,000 apiece and were designed by a committee that included team executives, manager Bob Brenly and players Luis Gonzalez and Jay Bell and their wives. Inscribed inside of each ring is "9-11-01. Never forget." to commemorate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ... Burroughs was in the lineup after missing Monday's opener with a stomach virus and got his first two major league hits _ a pair of singles off Schilling
:biggrinpa
PHOENIX (AP) _ Two games, two shutouts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Life is good with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling on the mound.
Schilling picked up where Johnson left off by throwing seven scoreless innings and Damian Miller hit a grand slam Tuesday night as the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 9-0.
"I'm not complaining," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "When you get your two big guys going out there pitching the way they did the last two days, and the offense coming through.
"And the most impressive thing to me has been our defense. We played some sparkling defense behind both those guys.
Schilling, 26-6 last season counting his 4-0 postseason mark, struck out nine, allowed six hits and didn't walk a batter one night.
In Monday's opener, Johnson fanned eight and threw a six-hitter in a 2-0 shutout.
Schilling and Johnson were co-MVPs of the World Series.
"Two days into the season we're 2-0," Schilling said. "Last night it was RJ and tonight was the offense and for the most part defense. We had a huge inning."
For Schilling the most thrilling part of the night came before the game started. As he warmed up in the bullpen, the rest of the players received their World Series rings.
When it was Schilling's turn, his 6-year-old son, Gehrig, scampered out of the dugout to receive his dad's. Schilling said he had no idea that had been planned.
"I was pretty choked up actually," he said. "I had to stop throwing for a few minutes in the bullpen when I saw it. It was pretty awesome."
Young Schilling dropped the ring case on his way back to the dugout, but quickly scooped it up. It was Arizona's only bobble of the night.
In front of 48,042 _ their second sellout crowd in as many nights _ the Diamondbacks made quick work of the Padres, who are 4-20 at Bank One Ballpark since 1998.
Tony Womack singled, drove in a pair of runs with sacrifice flies, and made a leaping grab of Ramon Vazquez's line drive to end San Diego's fifth inning. Junior Spivey was 3-for-3 with a double and scored twice.
Staked a 9-0 lead after three innings, Schilling didn't lose any intensity.
"There are times when I've had that happen, but not in recent memory," he said. "If anything it's a situation where you try and intensify your focus a little bit. I was talking to RJ when I came out. That was the thing I was happiest about. I was very, very focused tonight."
Miller's fourth career slam capped a seven-run second inning for the Diamondbacks off Brian Tollberg.
With two outs, Miller smashed Tollberg's 3-0 pitch into the left-field seats.
"The skipper has shown some confidence in me, giving me the 3-0 green light," Miller said. "I got good wood on it, fortunately. I was kind of looking for the ball up. That's basically what you do in that situation. He threw it right where my barrel was."
Steve Finley opened the inning with a home run to right. Spivey singled, then was safe at second on Craig Counsell's infield hit when second baseman D'Angelo Jimenez lost his balance trying to tag second.
Schilling's bunt loaded the bases when third baseman Sean Burroughs covered third on the play and Tollberg didn't go after the ball.
"We failed to execute a fundamental," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's something you've got to do. On Schilling's bunt we failed to get an out, and that really haunted us there."
Womack drove home a run with a sacrifice fly, then Luis Gonzalez barely beat out a double play to allow the third run of the inning to score.
Mark Grace walked on four pitches to load the bases for Miller.
Tollberg lasted just 2 2-3 innings. He allowed nine runs on nine hits, walked three and struck out none.
Mark Kotsay tripled with one out in the first for the Padres, but was stranded when Ray Lankford struck out and Phil Nevin flew out to the center field wall. Vazquez led off the third with a double, but Schilling struck out the next four he faced.
Mike Myers threw the eighth, then Byung-Hyun Kim pitched a scoreless ninth in his first appearance since his debacle in Game 5 of the World Series.
"It would be nice to get a run on the board," Bochy said. "You don't want very many games like this."< ^Notes:@ The World Series rings cost about $9,000 apiece and were designed by a committee that included team executives, manager Bob Brenly and players Luis Gonzalez and Jay Bell and their wives. Inscribed inside of each ring is "9-11-01. Never forget." to commemorate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ... Burroughs was in the lineup after missing Monday's opener with a stomach virus and got his first two major league hits _ a pair of singles off Schilling
:biggrinpa