Cardinals 1, D-backs 0
PHOENIX -- Jose Jimenez, a rookie suffering through one of the worst seasons of any National League pitcher, threw the first St. Louis no-hitter in 16 years Friday night, outdueling Randy Johnson in the Cardinals' 1-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.It was the first no-hitter by an NL rookie since 1972, when Burt Hooten of the Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 4-0. Jimenez is the first Cardinals rookie to throw a no-hitter since Paul Dean, Dizzy's brother, beat Brooklyn 3-0 in 1934.
"It's unbelievable," said Jimenez, who threw a no-hitter in the minors last season. "I can't explain it. I just want to fly tonight."
Jimenez (4-7) struck out eight, walked two and hit a batter. No Arizona runner got beyond second base against the 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic.
Right fielder Eric Davis saved the no-hitter with two diving catches, including a one-out grab in the ninth off a sinking liner by pinch-hitter David Dellucci. Davis aggravated his sore left shoulder making the first catch, but that didn't stop him from making an even better one the second time.
"I couldn't think about my shoulder," Davis said. "It's a no-hitter. You've got to go get the ball."
Jimenez then got Tony Womack on a slow roller to second, and was mobbed by his teammates, with Mark McGwire leading the charge.
"If that doesn't thrill you, then you should be doing something else for a living," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. "He really had tremendous movement on his pitches. He has Kevin Brown-type movement."
La Russa gave much of the credit to catcher Alberto Castillo.
"He called a no-hit game. He mixed up the pitches all night," La Russa said.
Jimenez, who entered the game with a 6.79 ERA, is the first rookie to pitch a no-hitter since Wilson Alvarez of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 11, 1991. He is the first St. Louis pitcher to do it since Bob Forsch on Sept. 26, 1983.
Johnson (9-4) struck out 14 to reach 2,500 for his career and gave up only five hits in a magnificent duel with the rookie right-hander.
"His pitchers were moving all over the place, he was in control and they had great defense for him," said Johnson, who has one no-hitter in his stellar career. "After I'd given up the run, I wanted to watch him."
It was a scoreless game until the ninth, when Johnson walked Darren Bragg and Mark McGwire with one out. Johnson then struck out Davis, but Thomas Howard followed with an RBI single to left for the game's only run. McGwire was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.
With one out in the ninth, Dellucci hit a sinking liner to right. Davis came in and made a diving, backhand catch. After Davis rolled over and stood up, the ball fell out of his glove, but second-base umpire Mark Wegner ruled Davis had control of the ball long enough for the out. Arizona manager Buck Showalter argued briefly.
METS 10, BRAVES 2: At Atlanta, not even a power failure could short-circuit the New York Mets.
Rick Reed shut down Atlanta over 6 1/3 innings and also had an RBI single during a three-run sixth as the streaking Mets closed to within two games of the Braves in the NL East.
The start of the game was delayed 45 minutes when a problem in the electrical system knocked out a section of field lights. When the lights finally came back on, the Mets picked up where they left off.
New York is the hottest team in baseball over the past 2 1/2 weeks, winning 15 of 18 games to threaten Atlanta's dominance in the East. Despite winning seven of 10, the Braves have lost two games in the standings during that span.
PHILLIES 3, CUBS 2: At Chicago, Mike Lieberthal hit a two-run homer and Chad Ogea snapped a personal three-game losing streak.
EXPOS 4, MARLINS 3: At Montreal, Carl Pavano scattered five hits over eight innings and Chris Widger drove in two runs as the Montreal Expos handed the Florida Marlins their 10th straight loss.
PIRATES 5, BREWERS 3: At Milwaukee, Jason Kendall had two hits and stole his 20th base as Pittsburgh won for only the second time in seven games.
REDS 10, ASTROS 7: At Houston, Michael Tucker homered, tripled and drove in four runs to lead the Cincinnati Reds to their fifth straight victory.
PADRES 10, ROCKIES 1: At San Diego, Brian Boehringer pitched seven shutout innings in his longest career start as the Padres claimed their seventh straight victory.
DODGERS 4, GIANTS 2: At San Francisco, Kevin Brown combined with two relievers on a six-hitter to stay undefeated against San Francisco, and Todd Hundley homered for L.A.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 9, ORIOLES 8: At Baltimore, Shane Spencer hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth inning as the New York Yankees blew a three-run lead before rallying to win their fourth straight.
Tino Martinez went 4-for-4 with two RBIs to lead a 16-hit attack against five Baltimore pitchers. The Yankees scored in all but two innings and went down in order only once.
Baltimore's Jesse Orosco made his major-league record 1,051st relief appearance, breaking a tie with Kent Tekulve atop the career list. Orosco has pitched in 1,055 games, 16 short of the record held by Dennis Eckersley.
RED SOX 6, WHITE SOX 1: At Boston, Troy O'Leary drove in two runs with his first triple of the season and Brian Daubach had a two-run homer for Boston.
DEVIL RAYS 11, BLUE JAYS 4: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Wilson Alvarez struck out a team-record 11 in his first complete game of the season, and Jose Canseco hit his major league-leading 28th homer as Tampa Bay snapped an 11-game home losing streak.
TIGERS 2, TWINS 0: At Detroit, Brian Moehler threw a six-hitter to end a personal three-game losing streak and give Detroit its first complete game of the season.
ROYALS 8, INDIANS 2: At Kansas City, Mo., Jeff Suppan pitched eight strong innings, and Jeremy Giambi drove in three runs for Kansas City.
RANGERS 14, MARINERS 4: At Seattle, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez each had two home runs and five RBIs in the opener of the final Kingdome series Friday night.
ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Mo Vaughn tied the game with a two-run single in the eighth and Jeff Huson won it with a two-out single in the ninth.