By The Associated Press

Phillies pitcher Kevin Millwood, center, is congratulated by teammates after pitching a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants Sunday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

PHILADELPHIA - Often overlooked and considered expendable in Atlanta, Kevin Millwood at last outdid his former Cy Young teammates.

Millwood pitched his first career no-hitter, shutting down Barry Bonds and the NL's top team to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Francisco Giants 1-0 Sunday.

Millwood, acquired from Atlanta last December, struck out 10 and walked three to record the ninth no-hitter in team history.

His gem came on the first anniversary of the last no-hitter in the majors, by Boston's Derek Lowe against Tampa Bay.

"Every pitcher's goal is to throw one. I was probably as nervous as I've ever been," said Millwood, traded for catcher Johnny Estrada in a cost-cutting move by the Braves.

"It was one of those special days, and I don't plan on doing it every time out, but it was a lot of fun."

Millwood used several variations of his fastball and just enough offspeed pitches to keep Bonds and the other Giants' hitters off-balance throughout the afternoon - and kept the crowd of 40,016 cheering at Veterans Stadium.

"My fastball was the flavor of the day," said Millwood, who threw it on 81 of his 108 pitches. "The fans were great, they were loud and on their feet. When I got two strikes, it was so loud I couldn't hear myself think. That made me more nervous."

In Atlanta, Millwood pitched behind Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

Maddux (four), Glavine (two) and Smoltz (one) have seven Cy Young awards among them, but none has pitched no-hitter. The trio has three one-hitters, two by Maddux and one by Smoltz.

"That was cool," said Maddux, who watched on a clubhouse television as Atlanta played Milwaukee at Turner Field. "I really enjoyed it. I was probably more nervous than he was."

Millwood said upstaging his former mentors didn't make his performance more special.

"I'd be just as excited if one of those guys threw it," he said.

Millwood retired Bonds three times, striking out the single-season home-run king in the seventh looking at a 91 mph fastball. Bonds hit a long drive to right that Bobby Abreu caught near the wall in the fourth.

Marquis Grissom came the closest to getting a hit, but center fielder Ricky Ledee raced back and made a leaping one-handed catch on his hard liner to right-center to start the seventh.

"I was just praying that Ricky would make a great play and he did," Millwood said.

Ledee homered for the game's only run and also caught the final out.

Jose Cruz Jr. nearly homered in the second, but his long fly hooked outside the right-field foul pole.

"He threw a great game," Cruz said. "He kept pumping them up there."

Grissom hit a routine fly ball to Ledee for the final out of the game.

Earlier in the ninth, Millwood retired pinch-hitters Neifi Perez and Marvin Benard on grounders before walking Ray Durham on a full count. Millwood retired 15 straight batters before the walk.

"Not only was that unbelievable, it came against the best team in the National League right now," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "To do it in 1-0 game makes it more special."

St. Louis' Bud Smith, now a Phillies' minor leaguer, pitched the last NL no-hitter against San Diego on Sept. 3, 2001.

When Grissom lofted the final fly ball, Millwood (4-1) put his right finger up the air and held it there as Ledee made the catch.

Phillies first baseman Jim Thome was the first teammate to reach Millwood, coming over from first base and embracing the pitcher on the mound. Thome and Millwood were Philadelphia's top acquisitions in a free-spending offseason.

Catcher Mike Lieberthal hugged Millwood and Bowa pumped his fist as he ran from the dugout. But Bowa couldn't get to Millwood as the Phillies surrounded him.

Millwood tipped his hat twice to the fans, who stood the last two innings to root him on. His wife, Rena, said she chewed her fingernails the last few innings.

"I wouldn't say it was his best stuff," Lieberthal said. "His slider wasn't working and he threw a few curves. It was all his fastball."

The last Phillies pitcher to throw a no-hitter was Tommy Greene against Montreal on May 23, 1991.

Philadelphia's Terry Mulholland pitched the only other nine-inning no-hitter in Veterans Stadium history against the Giants on Aug. 15, 1990.

"He was getting the calls and then he got more aggressive," Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia said.

Down in Atlanta, the Braves cheered their former teammate. Maddux was charting pitches in the clubhouse when he noticed what Millwood was doing through the early innings.

"I had a hard time watching our game," Maddux said.

Braves manager Bobby Cox caught the end of Millwood's outing.

"That was sensational," Cox said.

Cardinals 7, Marlins 6

MIAMI - Fernando Vina hit an RBI single in the 20th inning off Carl Pavano (2-3), ending the longest game in the major leagues since Minnesota beat Cleveland 5-4 in 22 innings on Aug. 31, 1993.

Vina was 0-for-9 before his hit. The game took 6 hours, 7 minutes, and a steady drizzle began in the 18th.

The Cardinals took a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth before Florida rallied for five runs as Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo and Ramon Castro homered.

Steve Kline (1-3) worked three innings. Tino Martinez went 5-for-8 for St. Louis. There were 622 pitches, including 337 by seven St. Louis pitchers. The Marlins used eight pitchers, who combined for 16 walks.

Diamondbacks 6, Mets 1; Diamondbacks 7, Mets 3

NEW YORK - Randy Johnson (1-2) came off the disabled list to strike out 12 in six innings for his 188th double-digit strikeout game, allowing two runs and nine hits as Arizona completed a doubleheader sweep.

Brandon Webb (1-0) struck out 10 and gave up three hits in seven scoreless innings in the opener, his first major league start. Webb then was optioned back to Triple-A Tucson to make room for Johnson, who had right knee inflammation.

Craig Counsell tied his career high with four RBIs in the opener. Tom Glavine (3-2) gave up six runs - four earned - and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings.

New York committed eight errors and struck out a major league-record 27 times on the day.

Mark Grace drove in four runs in the second game, hitting a two-run homer off Armando Benitez. Matt Mantei got his third save in the second game and Jae Seo (1-2) allowed three runs - all unearned - in six innings.

Braves 7, Brewers 1

ATLANTA - Marcus Giles had three hits and two RBIs as Atlanta won for the 11th time in 13 games.

Javy Lopez homered and Chipper Jones had two hits and three RBIs.

Russ Ortiz (3-2) gave up one run, five hits and six walks in 8 2-3 innings to beat Glendon Rusch (1-4), who allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.

Astros 6, Expos 3

MONTREAL - Jeff Bagwell hit major league-leading 10th home run and Jeff Kent hit a three-run shot, helping Houston stop a four-game losing streak.

Tim Redding (2-2) allowed three runs and six hits in six-plus innings. Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth for his first save as Houston finished 4-9 on its longest trip in 10 years.

Montreal went 4-2 on its first homestand at Olympic Stadium after going 6-4 during 10 "home" games moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tomo Ohka (2-3) gave up five runs and seven hits in three innings.

Dodgers 6, Pirates 2

PITTSBURGH - Cesar Izturis singled to break a 2-all tie in the seventh, and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep. Pittsburgh's 3-9 homestand was its worst since going 3-10 in July 1993.

Kazuhisa Ishii (2-1) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. Jeff Suppan (4-1) gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings.

Rockies 6, Cubs 3

DENVER - Darren Oliver (1-2) won for the first time in nearly a year, allowing three runs and five hits in seven innings.

Charles Johnson had a homer and four RBIs as Colorado improved to 10-2 at Coors Field.

Jay Payton's infield single drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh, and Jose Jimenez pitched the ninth for his sixth save. Carlos Zambrano (3-2) gave up four runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings.