Daal Makes History In D'Backs Win

Omar Daal made history and Devon White might be history for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sure, it's only four months of history for the expansion franchise, but Daal's four-hit 4-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday was the first complete game shutout ever for Arizona.

"I'm so happy to get the first one," Daal said. "When my kid grows up, he's going to see that."

Daal (5-5), a 26-year-old left-hander, struck out seven and walked three in his second complete game of the season and the fifth by a Diamondbacks pitcher.

"This one is the best one so far," he said.

White, in what might be his last game for Arizona, drove in two runs with a home run and two singles batting out of the cleanup spot. Considered a prime candidate to be traded by Friday night's deadline, White said he hasn't let the talk affect him and didn't look at Thursday's game as a last Diamondback appearance.

"Being a veteran, I know the game," White said. "There's always talk, and sometimes you hear so much talk and nothing happens. So far nothing's happened, and in my heart I don't think I'm going anywhere."

His teammates have been razzing him about the rumors.

"I'll come in and they'll say `You still here?' or the phone rings and they say `Devon it's for you."' White said.

Would he like to go to a contender?

"I've never been in this situation before," he said. "Right now I'm content where I'm at and that's something I don't think about."

White ld off the second with a bunt single and scored on Jorge Fabregas's two-out single.

White, moved into the cleanup spot after injuries sidelined Matt Williams and Travis Lee, hit his 15th home run of the season onto the swimming pool deck in right field to lead off the third against Chicago starter Kevin Tapani (12-7), giving Arizona a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth, White's two-out single to left on a 3-2 pitch drove in Daal to put the Diamondbacks up 4-0. When White was caught in a rundown between first and second on the play, David Dellucci tried to score from third but was thrown out at the plate.

Fabregas and Danny Klassen broke out of hitting slumps with RBI hits in the second to put Arizona ahead 2-0. Fabregas's RBI single was his first hit in 13 at bats, and Klassen broke an 0-for-17 skid with a double off the left field wall to drive in Fabregas. Klassen also singled in the sixth.

Chicago loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth when Jeff Blauser walked, Mark Grace singled and Sammy Sosa beat out an infield chopper for a single. But Daal, who threw 126 pitches, 78 of them strikes, struck out Glenallen Hill on three pitches to end the inning.

"He was just outstanding," Chicago manager Jim Riggleman said. "We just didn't get him. He was the story of the game."

Daal, who spent almost three weaks on the disabled list in June with a strained left hamstring, gave up one hit through the first five innings.

"Now I feel the same as I did before the injury," he said.

After hitting three home runs - two of them grand slams - for 10 RBIs in the first two games of the series, Sosa was 2-for-8 in the last two games, 1-for-3 on Thursday.

The Cubs made two base-running errors early in the game. Sosa was caught in a rundown between second and third on a ground ball to the pitcher in the second, then Lance Johnson took off too early to second in a steal attempt and was tagged out in another rundown in the third.

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