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Can't win 'em all Vazquez outduels Johnson, Expos blank Diamondbacks
Posted: Wednesday May 17, 2000 02:27 AM
MONTREAL (AP) -- Randy Johnson finally lost, and the team he started with beat him. Johnson made his first start at Olympic Stadium in 11 seasons, and the Montreal Expos defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 Tuesday night, becoming the first team to beat Johnson in a regular-season game since last Aug. 31. "It's nice coming back here," Johnson said. "I haven't pitched here since I left. It brought back a lot of memories." But he didn't add any good ones. Rondell White hit a 440-foot homer in the seventh inning and Mike Mordecai singled home a run in the eighth. Johnson (7-1), traded by Montreal to Seattle on May 25, 1989, had won 10 consecutive regular decisions and was unbeaten in 12 starts since losing to the Expos last August. He pitched his major league-leading fifth complete game, allowing one earned run and walking none. He struck out 12 to raise his major league-leading total to 110, reaching double digits for the eighth time this year and the 133rd time in his career. "He certainly did his job and gave us as good a chance to win as you can," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said. Johnson's ERA, the best in the majors, rose from 0.95 to 0.97. Javier Vazquez (4-1) held the Diamondbacks to five hits in eight-plus innings, struck out seven and walked two. "Anytime you lose 2-0, the opposing pitcher pitched outstanding," Johnson said.
Erubiel Durazo singled leading off the ninth to chase Vazquez. Steve Kline got Scott Finley to fly to center, and Dustin Hermanson walked Greg Colbrunn and Kelly Stinnett. Lenny Harris then grounded to shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who started a game-ending double play. Hermanson got his second save in three chances. White hit a 3-2 fastball from Johnson for his fifth home run of the season. "I'm not going to say it hurt me," Johnson said. "I got beat by my best pitch, that's the way I look at it." White felt that Vladimir Guerrero's presence in the lineup was a factor in getting the pitch he wanted. "It's just a lot of luck," White said. "He struck me out my first two at-bats. I got a fastball 3-2, and everything went my way. I had Guerrero coming up behind me so I knew he had to come after me." Cabrera singled leading off the eighth and advanced to third when Johnson's pickoff attempt sailed into the Expos' dugout for an error. Mordecai followed with a run-scoring single. "We kept scratching, and we pulled it out," White said. Johnson retired 17 of his first 18 batters, allowing just a two-out double to Vazquez in the third before Wilton Guerrero singled to center with two outs in the sixth. Arizona threatened in the first, getting runners to second and third with one out. The Expos escaped when first baseman Lee Stevens snared Durazo's liner and Vazquez struck out Finley. "That was a possible double by Durazo," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "Stevens is an outstanding fielder, and he has great sense and anticipation." Stevens, 0-for-1 with a walk against Johnson coming in, was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He was the only left-handed batter in the Expos' lineup. Notes: Johnson was a combined 3-4 with a 4.69 ERA in 11 games for Montreal, including 10 starts. ... Only Nolan Ryan (215) has more double-digit strikeout games. ... The Expos are the only major league team Johnson has faced and yet to beat. Johnson went 0-1 against Montreal in two starts at home last season. He has yet to pitch against Houston. ... The Diamondbacks haven't lost a road series since last July. Arizona has won 16 series and split a four-game series in that span. ... Arizona is 78-28 (.736) since last July 20. ... Switch-hitter Wilton Guerrero started in center field in place of Peter Bergeron and made a nice leaping catch at the wall on Jay Bell's drive to center leading off the sixth. ... Closer Ugueth Urbina will have arthroscopic surgery Wednesday morning to remove one or more possible bone chips from his right elbow. Urbina, who also had bone chips removed from the same elbow in Dec. 1996, is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.
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