CHULK THIS ONE UP: L.A. WINS DUEL VS. THE GIANTS MADDUX, SCHMIDT DELIVER TANTALIZING MATCHUP; MARTIN'S HOMER LIFTS DODGERS DODGERS 1, SAN FRANCISCO 0 (10).

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

Two storied franchises and two legendary pitchers engaged in a classic, nationally televised duel Sunday night, with a late-summer pennant race as their backdrop.

As tension hung thick in the gathering twilight, the only thing that was clear was that if someone eventually was going to blink, it probably wasn't going to be Greg Maddux or Jason Schmidt.

Ultimately, it was someone named Vinnie Chulk.

On his second pitch after jogging in from the visiting bullpen, the San Francisco right- hander hung a slider to Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, who dropped it into the front row of the pavilion in left field to finally break both the tension and the Giants' backs.

With that, the surging Dodgers had an unforgettable 1-0, 10-inning victory in front a sellout crowd of 55,699 in a game that will be remembered far less for Martin's heroics than for the eight innings of delicious melodrama turned in by Maddux and Schmidt.

Maddux, the Dodgers' newly acquired future Hall of Famer, gave up two hits in the first inning. But in the first plate appearance in major-league history by a batter with 700 homers against a pitcher with 300 wins, Barry Bonds lined a pitch directly into the glove of Maddux, who turned and threw to first to double off Ray Durham and escape the jam.

From there, Maddux retired the final 22 batters he faced with stunning efficiency. By the time he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning, the right-hander had thrown a ridiculous 68 pitches.

``He played with us,'' Giants manager Felipe Alou said. ``He makes you chase the pitch he wants to make. We hit the pitches that he wanted us to beat into the ground. He knows we swing the bats a lot. We chase bad pitches. We didn't hit any groundball double plays because we didn't have anybody on base for two hours.''

Schmidt, the Giants' longtime ace, was pedestrian by comparison. All he could come up with were eight shutout innings, during which he gave up five hits, struck out nine batters and didn't issue a walk. But the worst thing he did to the Dodgers, who have won 15 of their past 16 games, was postpone career win No. 329 for Maddux.

The win in this one went to Takashi Saito, who intentionally walked Bonds with the bases empty but otherwise got through the top of the 10th on three easy pop flies. But the glory goes to Maddux, even if he tried to deflect it in his typical, aw-shucks way.

``I'm just trying to pitch and really not worried about a whole lot of other things,'' he said. ``I do know these guys play outstanding defense. If they play defense behind you, as a pitcher, that is all you can ask.''

Methodically pitching to contact, Maddux recorded 10 groundball outs and allowed only five balls to be hit out of the infield after the first inning. Maddux was due to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but with the Dodgers looking for a run to create a save situation for Saito in the ninth, manager Grady Little opted for a pinch hitter.

``We needed runs, and I'm not a real good hitter,'' said Maddux, now batting .174 for his celebrated career. ``That's no secret.''

The Dodgers didn't get that run. But they did get two stellar innings of relief from Brett Tomko and Saito (5-2) to set the stage for Martin, who made sure the Dodgers (62-56) held onto their 1 1/2-game lead over second-place San Diego in the National League West.

``You can watch a lot of baseball and not see a better game than that,'' Little said. ``This was a good series for us, three one-run games. It means a lot to our club, not only that we have been playing so well but that we did it against a club like that.''

Mike Stanton retired the Dodgers quickly in the ninth. Alou opted to go with Chulk (0-1), whom the Giants acquired from Toronto in last month's Shea Hillenbrand-Jeremy Accardo trade, for the bottom of the 10th. But the bottom of the 10th didn't last long.

``The first pitch was a slider that just missed inside,'' Martin said. ``The second pitch was also a slider, but it was a little bit more over the plate. It felt pretty good off the bat, but you never know in this ballpark. I thought it barely made it over the wall, but it found a way.''

Following a pitching duel for the ages, so did the Dodgers.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) ONE AND WON

Martin's homer in 10th gives Dodgers 1-0 victory, series sweep over rival Giants

(2) Greg Maddux allowed no runs and two hits in eight innings, but took his second no-decision with the Dodgers.

(3) The Dodgers' Russell Martin is mobbed by his teammates after hitting a 10th-inning, walk-off home run Sunday to beat the San Francisco Giants.

Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer