Another 20-win season for Schilling

Posted 6:55AM on Saturday 17th August 2002 ( 22 years ago )

Curt Schilling was one out from finishing his 20th victory in style. Sammy Sosa homered to spoil the shutout, but Schilling clinched his second consecutive 20-win season by pitching the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Friday. ``I tried to get a little macho there at the end,'' Schilling said with a smile. ``Not a smart pitch.'' He made plenty of good ones. Schilling (20-4) scattered six hits over 8 2-3 innings to become the season's first 20-game winner. The right-hander struck out 12 and walked none, and retired 18 straight before Sosa came to the plate in the ninth. The Cubs slugger connected for his major league-leading 42nd home run. Fred McGriff followed with a single, and Schilling was relieved by Byung-Hyun Kim, who got his 29th save in 34 attempts. It was Sosa's 492nd home run, leaving him one shy of tying Lou Gehrig for 18th place on the career list. ``That's the kind of matchup the fans look forward to,'' Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. ``And great ballplayers look forward to, as well. In the last at-bat, Sammy won. But on the day, Schill won.'' That's what he does best. Junior Spivey hit a sacrifice fly for the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, who have won seven in a row. Sosa's error in right field helped lead to another run on a wild pitch by Steve Smyth (1-1). The 35-year-old Schilling, who won 20 games for the first time last season, is 42-10 since the start of 2001. He is the fastest pitcher to 20 wins since John Smoltz in 1996. Smoltz got his 20th victory in Atlanta's 121st game, one ahead of Schilling. ``I'm obviously very proud of it,'' Schilling said. At this point, he's the leading contender to win his first Cy Young Award, although Schilling's toughest competition will probably come from teammate Randy Johnson. Schilling has walked only 19 batters all season. He fanned Sosa twice Friday. ``He's a great pitcher,'' Sosa said. ``I love to face him because he's not afraid to challenge you.''

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