L.A. CAN'T HIT WORTH A SCHILLING DIAMONDBACKS PITCHER BAFFLES DODGERS ONCE AGAIN ARIZONA 4, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

PHOENIX - In the interest of fairness, on days Arizona's Curt Schilling faces the Dodgers, perhaps the mound should be shaved to create a better chance for the hitters.

Maybe cut the height of the pitcher's rubber down from 10 inches to six or so. Otherwise, there doesn't seem much point to it, be it on the road or if Schilling is pitching at home.

For the third time in as many starts this season, Schilling overwhelmed the Dodgers. He allowed six hits, pitching a complete game as the Diamondbacks finally broke through in the series with a 4-1 victory Wednesday at Bank One Ballpark.

The teams conclude their four-game series this afternoon with Arizona sending lefty Nick Bierbrodt to make his major-league debut in hopes of splitting the series. The Dodgers are 3-3 on their seven-game road trip.

Dodgers rookie Luke Prokopec proved no match for Schilling, who now is 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA against Los Angeles this season. He has struck out 30 and walked one in those wins.

The Dodgers scored on Shawn Green's 15th homer of the season, an opposite-field solo shot with one out in the ninth.

Prokopec (6-2) allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings as he's gone winless in back-to-back starts for the first time this season. Prokopec walked four, his second-highest total in a season in which he had walked 11. It also was his first loss since he allowed six runs in four innings May 8 against Florida.

Right-hander Eric Gagne, sent to the bullpen for his ineffectiveness as a starter, made his first relief appearance and pitched two scoreless innings.

If not for Paul Lo Duca's bloop single to lead off the game, the ``perfect game'' watch would have been on. Schilling (10-1), the first pitcher to reach double digits in wins, retired the next 13 batters before back-to-back singles from Mark Grudzielanek (eight-game hitting streak) and Adrian Beltre with two outs in the fifth.

Schilling struck out eight on this night, however, and hadn't allowed a run in 18 innings before Green's homer. He is 10-5 in his career against the Dodgers.

He allowed one earned run in seven innings and struck out 12 in winning at Dodger Stadium on April 4. Schilling then outdueled Kevin Brown at Bank One Ballpark on April 10, yielding two hits and striking out 10 in that 2-0 masterpiece.

It's two months later, but nothing has changed. Schilling mowed through the lineup with ease. Of the 12 hits the Dodgers have off Schilling this season, 10 are singles.

The Diamondbacks, who increased their lead to two games over the Dodgers in the National League West, gave Schilling an early lead with Jay Bell's one-out homer in the first that bounced off the top of the fence in left field.

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(color) Arizona's Curt Schilling releases a pitch against the Dodgers, against whom he is 3-0 this season, on Wednesday at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.

Paul Connors/Associated Press