Cardinals 2, Diamondbacks 1

PHOENIX (AP) _ Curt Schilling lived up to his reputation as a big-game pitcher, and even that was not enough to stop the inspired St. Louis Cardinals. <br><br>Miguel Cairo's ninth-inning single off

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) _ Curt Schilling lived up to his reputation as a big-game pitcher, and even that was not enough to stop the inspired St. Louis Cardinals.

Miguel Cairo's ninth-inning single off reliever Mike Koplove drove in Edgar Renteria with the go-ahead run Thursday in the Cardinals' 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After beating the Diamondbacks with Schilling and Randy Johnson on the mound, the Cardinals can finish off the World Series champions Saturday in St. Louis.

``Game 3 is going to be very pivotal for us,'' St. Louis reliever Steve Kline said. ``We have to win. We don't want to have to face those two pitchers again.''

The Cardinals, devastated by the death of pitcher Darryl Kile of a heart attack and saddened by the loss of longtime broadcaster Jack Buck, are one victory away from advancing to the NLCS for the second time in three years.

They may have to do it, however, without star third baseman Scott Rolen. Rolen injured his left shoulder when he was struck by pinch-runner Alex Cintron while fielding a slow grounder in the seventh inning.

The early diagnosis was a sprained shoulder, and manager Tony La Russa said Rolen might be lost for the rest of the playoffs.

``I'm sick to my stomach about Scott,'' La Russa said. ``It's not that he is just a good player, but he's really excited about the postseason. He played at such a high level. You know, the news is probably not too good.''

Arizona, with Luis Gonzalez and Craig Counsell out with season-ending injuries, had counted on Johnson and Schilling to be the equalizers. Now their hopes rest with Miguel Batista, who will start Game 3 Saturday against Andy Benes.

``There's no pep talks,'' Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. ``There's no magic words that are going to suddenly make everything OK. You just keep grinding. You keep playing the game. You keep doing the things you've been successful doing and hope for the best.''

The Diamondbacks, who had trailed 1-0 since the third inning on J.D. Drew's two-out homer off Schilling, tied it with an unearned run in the eighth.

Quinton McCracken doubled over the outstretched glove of the right fielder Drew to score Greg Colbrunn, who had reached on a fielding error by Albert Pujols _ Rolen's replacement at third.

Chuck Finley, two months shy of his 40th birthday, held Arizona to four hits in 6 1-3 scoreless innings before leaving with a muscle cramp in his pitching hand. He showed that the Cardinals are more than just a bunch of big hitters.

``If you want to slug it out, we'll slug it out with you,'' Finley said. ``But 2-1, 3-2, we'll do that too.''

Acquired from Cleveland on July 19, Finley went 7-4 with the Cardinals. The left-hander had been 0-2 in the postseason coming in, losing twice to Seattle in the first round last year.

``You can't give him enough credit,'' La Russa said. ``The first couple of innings, he made great pitches, then he pitched even better. He showed up so big for us.''

Schilling, who had struggled in his last seven starts, scattered seven hits, struck out seven and walked one.

``I felt good,'' he said. ``Today my best wasn't good enough.''

Even the 2-2 pitch that Drew hit into the left-field seats was a good one.

Catcher Damian Miller called it ``a perfect pitch.''

``It was down and away, maybe off the plate a little bit and below the knees,'' Miller said. ``It probably wasn't even a strike, but J.D.'s a pretty good hitter.''

Drew had one of two three-run homers off Schilling last week in Arizona's 6-1 loss in St. Louis, but struck out in his first at-bat Thursday.

``That pitch was one I had used to get him out several times,'' Schilling said.

A year ago, Schilling beat the Cardinals 1-0 in his first division series start. In Game 5, Drew's eighth-inning homer off Schilling tied the score 1-1, but Arizona advanced on Tony Womack's RBI single in the ninth.

Renteria, the hero of Game 7 for Florida in the 1997 World Series and persistent troublemaker against Arizona, led off the ninth with a single, then was sacrificed to second.

Cairo, who had entered during a double-switch in the eighth, singled up the middle.

``I'm blessed right now,'' Cairo said. ``I'm in the best organization in baseball. They have been treating me so well. To get that base hit makes it much better. What a beautiful day today for me.''