Arizona Can Put Up the Bunting

Has the most valuable player of a series ever been so easy to identify?

Arizona’s Curt Schilling dominated St. Louis, giving up only one run in 18 innings to lead his team into the National League championship series against Atlanta.

But it was third baseman Matt Williams who finally drew cheers from his home fans and shortstop Tony Womack who was mobbed by his teammates after the Diamondbacks’ thrilling 2-1 victory Sunday night.

Womack, who couldn’t make contact on a suicide squeeze attempt three pitches earlier, singled to left field off Steve Kline with two out in the ninth.

Left fielder Kerry Robinson scooped up Womack’s soft single and fired a strike to home plate, but well after pinch-runner Danny Bautista slid home safely.

What an ending.

The beleaguered Williams, who had been booed throughout the series by Diamondback fans, led off the ninth with an opposite-field double against Dave Veres. It was his first hit in 16 at-bats.

“Matty’s my guy,” said Arizona Manager Bob Brenly, who declined to pinch-hit for him. “I’m a firm believer that he can come through when no one else thinks he can.”

After Kline replaced Veres and pinch-runner Midre Cummings was sacrificed to third, Brenly called for a suicide squeeze. But Womack could not connect on Kline’s 1-and-1 slider in the dirt and Cummings was caught between third and home.

“I’m sure there were a lot of people ready to put [horns] on me,” Brenly said. “But Kline is death on left-handed hitters and I thought we could catch him by surprise.”

Womack worked the count to 2-and-2 before knocking Kline’s fastball into left-center.

“I had to put [the missed squeeze] out of my mind,” Womack said. “I knew that I had one strike left.”

The clutch single made a winner of Schilling, who went 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA in the series. Although baseball doesn’t pick an MVP for the division series, there could be no debating Schilling’s credentials.

He beat Matt Morris, 1-0, in the opener, and the two traded zeroes for all but two innings Sunday.

“This is a real bitter defeat for our club,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said. “But because those guys did such a good job, the loss is easier to take. It was just a thrill to watch them.”

Morris was also superb over eight innings, his only mistake coming on Reggie Sanders’ home run.

Sanders gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead with his mammoth fourth-inning blast, which landed in the sports bar well beyond the left-field wall.

It was Sanders’ first hit off Morris in nine career at-bats, and the 33-year-old right-fielder celebrated by taking a curtain call as the crowd chanted: “Reggie! Reggie!”

Morris apparently didn’t appreciate that.

The fiery Morris, who hit 13 batters this season, responded in predictable fashion.

When Sanders stepped to the plate in the sixth, Morris fired a waist-high fastball that almost nipped his jersey.

Sanders barked at Morris and stepped toward the mound before having his path impeded by catcher Mike Matheny. Morris approached Sanders with his arms extended, as if to ask: What’s your problem?

The bullpens emptied before plate umpire Jim Joyce ordered the pitchers to retreat.

Morris walked Sanders on a full-count curveball but escaped trouble in the inning.

Schilling pitched almost flawlessly until J.D. Drew tied the score in the eighth with a home run.

Schilling responded in the ninth by stranding Jim Edmonds at second base. He struck out Edgar Renteria and Matheny on 97-mph fastballs.