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Brandon Webb is the first to 8 wins this season, winning each start and throwing his first complete game of 2008. Webb's command of his sinker and change make him incredibly tough, and his effortless delivery and clear head make him the best in baseball right now.

PHOENIX -- Brandon Webb has truly been a sure thing this year, winning every game he's pitched. His first complete game of the year, though, was anything but a certainty.

Thanks to some begging by his catcher and a double-play ball by the last batter he was permitted to face, Webb was able to go wire-to-wire in the Diamondbacks' 8-3 win over the Phillies.

With the victory, Webb moved to 8-0 for the second time in three years. This time, he did it in eight games -- making him the first pitcher since Jon Garland in 2005, and the first National Leaguer since Pedro Martinez in 1997, to win his first eight starts.

"To do that, you've got to have help, and I've had help from all aspects of our team," Webb said. "I'm just going to try to keep it going as long as I can."

With the win, Arizona salvaged a series split with the Phillies and wrapped up a 5-5 homestand at Chase Field.

Webb allowed an unearned run in the first and cruised until the ninth, when he yielded three hits and two runs before manager Bob Melvin visited the mound with one out, planning to lift Webb.
That's where backstop Chris Snyder chimed in.

"As soon as he came out of the dugout, Snyder was saying, 'He's fine, he's fine,'" Webb said.

Melvin said he normally would've lifted Webb after eight innings, since the game's outcome was already decided, but Webb had only thrown 88 pitches. So Melvin let him face four batters in the ninth before leaving the dugout.

"I was begging," Snyder admitted. "I wanted him to get it. Complete games don't come by too often."

Melvin was swayed, albeit narrowly.

"I told him he's got one hitter to get two outs," Melvin said. "If you want to go eight and two-thirds, that's fine, but if you want to end the game, you better get a double play."

Webb did just that, initiating a 1-6-3 twin killing off the bat of Geoff Jenkins.

The game was tight early, with Chris Young's two-run homer giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead after one, until Phillies starter Brett Myers was undone by himself and poor defense in the fourth.

Myers walked Justin Upton and Stephen Drew to start the inning, after which Mark Reynolds hit a soft grounder to short that was anything but routine, inasmuch that the shattered head of his bat was following closely behind the ball.

Eric Bruntlett had to wait on the ball, and Reynolds beat out an infield single. Snyder then laced a two-run double off the wall. Chris Burke followed with a run-scoring single off third baseman Greg Dobbs' glove, and after Webb flew out, a potential double-play grounder off the bat of Eric Byrnes didn't net a single out when second baseman Chase Utley dropped Bruntlett's toss. Augie Ojeda followed with a sac fly to make it 6-1.

Drew tripled in the fifth and scored on Reynolds' base hit, and Upton led off the seventh with a solo homer to right. Myers (2-3) allowed nine hits and seven runs (six earned) in five innings.
Shane Victorino's infield single to start the game was the only hit Webb would allow until Bruntlett singled with two outs in the sixth. Webb yielded six hits and three runs (two earned), striking out four.

That was a noted improvement over Webb's last start, when he allowed four runs in six innings.
"I felt early on like I had good stuff," Webb said. "My arm felt great, probably the best it's felt in three games."

Webb's strong start gave the bullpen a day off, and helped the Diamondbacks win without Orlando Hudson and Conor Jackson in the lineup. Young batted third for the first time since 2006, while Upton made his career debut hitting cleanup. Between them, they had three runs, two home runs and three runs batted in.

The Diamondbacks now head to Chicago in a relaxed state, thanks to another decisive effort by Webb. Webb was 8-0 after 11 starts in 2006, but lost his next decision. His current streak remains alive and well.

"It's been amazing," Young said. "He just goes out there and gets it done."

Mark Thoma is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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