PHOENIX, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Randy Johnson was his typically overpowering self Sunday night and Matt Williams delivered a three-run homer in the seventh inning, putting the Arizona Diamondbacks in command of the World Series with a 4-0 victory over the three-time defending champion New York Yankees.
Johnson threw the first World Series complete-game shutout in eight years.
With Arizona's twin terrors of Johnson and Curt Schilling having limited New York to a single run in the Series, the Diamondbacks will take a two games to none lead to Yankee Stadium when baseball's championship showdown resumes Tuesday night.
New York also trailed, 2-0, in the division round earlier this month against Oakland before rallying to win the final three games of that series.
But to win a fourth consecutive championship and the 27th in franchise history, the Yankees must capture at least one game against Arizona's dominating twosome and they were unable to come close in the two games at Bank One Ballpark.
Johnson allowed only three balls out of the infield through the first seven innings -- two of them for fly ball outs -- and eventually allowed three hits in winning the first World Series appearance of his superstar career. He walked one and struck out 11.
The only run New York has scored in the Series came Saturday night in the first inning off Schilling, after which the Diamondbacks roared to a 9-1 victory.
Arizona scored the lone run required by Johnson in the second inning when Reggie Sanders reached on an infield single off Andy Pettitte and came racing home from first on a double by Danny Bautista.
Bautista went to third on the throw home, but he was left there when Matt Williams, Mark Grace and Damian Miller all hit routine grounders.
It was still 1-0 going into the Arizona seventh, when Pettitte finally made the mistake that sealed New York's fate.
He started the inning by hitting Luis Gonzalez in the wrist with a pitch. Gonzalez was eliminated at second on a fielder's choice grounder from Reggie Sanders, a play on which the Yankees were unable to get two because third baseman Scott Brosius had the ball briefly stick in his glove.
Bautista then hit a smash off Pettitte that ricocheted to the left side of the infield and went for a single.
That brought up Williams, who took a strike and then jumped all over a fat pitch from Pettitte -- one that wound up deep in the right-field seats for a three-run homer.
"He just left one out over the plate and I got enough of it," Williams said. "You never have a game against the Yankees until the last out because they are such a great team.
"The feeling now is the same as it was before the Series started. We have to play well. It doesn't get any easier from here."
Johnson, meanwhile, was coasting. He retired the first 10 men he faced, stricking out seven, before walking Randy Velarde in the fourth. He finally gave up a leadoff single to Jorge Posada in the fifth, but promptly struck out Shane Spencer and Alfonso Soriano before Brosius lifted a fly ball to left to end the inning.
Johnson's only moment of concern came in the eighth, when Spencer looped a single to right off the handle of the bat and Soriano lined a base hit to left. The flame-throwing Johnson, however, struck out Brosius and pinch-hitter Luis Sojo grounded into a double play to end the threat.
As Johnson came off the field after the eighth inning, he was asked by Arizona manager Bob Brenly if he wanted to finish the game.
When Johnson said he certainly did want to pitch the ninth, Brenly responded -- "Attaboy."
Johnson worked a 1-2-3 ninth, recording his 11th strikeout in the process.
