Schilling Hangs Tough to Catch 22

Curt Schilling became baseball’s first 22-game winner in his final regular-season start as the Arizona Diamondbacks held off the Colorado Rockies, 4-3, Wednesday night at Phoenix.

The Diamondbacks won for the sixth time in seven games and remained two games ahead of second-place San Francisco in the National League West with four games to play.

Schilling (22-6) gave up nine hits in eight innings, struck out eight and walked none.

Craig Counsell extended his hitting streak to 12 games, matching his career high set this year, with a two-run double in the second inning.

Matt Williams singled in a run in the third to put the Diamondbacks ahead, 4-0.

Todd Helton’s 47th home run, with two out in the eighth, cut Arizona’s lead, 4-3.

Byung-Hyun Kim earned his 18th save in 22 opportunities.

Chicago 13, Cincinnati 7-Sammy Sosa hit his 61st home run at Chicago and Jon Lieber became the Cubs’ first 20-game winner in nine years.

Sosa’s three-run drive came against Chris Reitsma in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Corky Miller homered twice, and Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn had solo home runs for the Reds.

Lieber (20-6) gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings.

Milwaukee 9, St. Louis 7-Richie Sexson drove in five runs at Milwaukee with his 42nd and 43rd homers.

The Cardinals had their six-game winning streak halted, but remained in a first-place tie with the Houston Astros in the NL Central.

Sexson’s two-run homer in the first gave Milwaukee a 2-1 lead and his three-run drive in the third put the Brewers ahead, 6-3.

His 43 homers are two shy of the franchise record set by Gorman Thomas in 1979. Sexson has a career-high 117 runs batted in.

J.D. Drew homered twice for St. Louis.

New York 3, Pittsburgh 0-Steve Trachsel pitched a two-hitter at Pittsburgh for his first complete game this season and the Mets avoided a three-game sweep.

Trachsel (11-13) pitched his first shutout since May 6, 2000, for Tampa Bay against Boston.

He retired 21 of 22 batters after giving up a single to Aramis Ramirez with two out in the first inning.

Trachsel didn’t give up another hit until pinch-hitter Adam Hydzu singled with two out in the seventh.

Desi Relaford and Mark Johnson homered.

Montreal 2, Florida 0-Vladimir Guerrero and Orlando Cabrera each had run-scoring doubles in the eighth inning at Miami against reliever Juan Acevedo (2-5), who gave up three hits-all doubles.

Rockie left-hander Mike Hampton was suspended for five games and fined by the commissioner’s office for intentionally throwing at Arizona starter Randy Johnson on Tuesday night.

The suspension was to start Wednesday, meaning Hampton would miss the remainder of the season unless he appeals ....

Pittsburgh Pirate catcher Jason Kendall will have tests Monday on the damaged ligament in his right thumb, which has hampered his batting for much of the season.

Kendall probably will have arthroscopic surgery.

He injured the thumb in the April 9 home opener against Cincinnati.