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MIAMI (Ticker) -- Randy Johnson reached 300 strikeouts in a season faster than any pitcher in major league history as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Florida Marlins, 12-2. Johnson reached the plateau in 29 starts, two fewer than Pedro Martinez needed to set the record with the Montreal Expos in 1997. "It's a special ahievement," Johnson said. "My primary goal is to put us in a position to win, but anything that comes with that is great." An intimidating, lanky lefthander, Johnson reached the mark on his eighth strikeout of the day, getting rookie Kevin Millar to end the fifth inning. "We're all lucky to be here," Diamondbacks manager Buc Showalter said. "I don't know if everybody grasps the kind of achievement this is. He's having as good a year as he's ever had, and he's had a lot of good ones." Johnson also became just the third pitcher in history to record 300 strikeouts three times, also doing so in 1998 and 1993. The mark has been reached 28 times by 14 different pitchers. Nolan Ryan did it six times, and Sandy Koufax did it three times. Johnson needs 83 strikeouts to break Ryan's single-season record of 383. "If something like that happens today, it's great if we win the game," Johnson said. Johnson (14-8) gave up one run and six hits while walking three and striking out nine over seven innings. He won his fourth straight decision and helped Arizona extend its winning streak to six games. The first-place Diamondbacks put it away by scoring eight runs in the ninth. Damian Miller capped the explosion with a grand slam. Matt Williams had four RBI and Tony Womack had two hits, two stolen bases and three runs scored for Arizona, which swept the three-game series and improved to 6-0 this season against Florida, which has lost six in a row. Williams singled home a run in the first, added a sacrifice fly in the third and stroked an RBI double in the fifth as Arizona grabbed a 4-1 lead. The Marlins put together three straight hits against Johnson in the third, getting within 3-1 on rookie Bruce Aven's RBI double. Johnson had struck out six of the first nine batters he faced before the string of hits. "The first three or four innings I was cruising," Johnson said. "I didn't realize how hard it would be to get that last strikeout." Johnson got Millar swinging for the second out of the third and victimized him again in the fifth to reach the 300-strikeout mark. "You can have your 'A' game and he can make it a 'B' game real quick," Millar said. "He knows how to pitch. It's a tough dogfight when you face Rnady Johnson. He's not just a thrower -- he's a pitcher." Florida brought the tying run to the plate against Johnson in the seventh, but Aven lined out to deep left to end the inning. "Randy Johnson was good," Florida manager John Boles said. "He battled through the heat extremely well. We kept waiting through the heat to get to him, but he hung in there." Johnson, who threw 103 pitches, had gone at least eight innings in five consecutive starts. He has lasted at least seven in 13 straight. Danny Bautista doubled home a run against Gregg Olson in the eighth, as the Marlins closed within 4-2, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. The Diamondbacks sent 11 batters to the plate against two pitchers in the ninth. Miller started it when he was hit with a pitch by Brian Edmondson and ended it with his second-career grand slam off Brent Billingsley. In between, rookie Rob Ryan and Williams had RBI singles, Luis Gonzalez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and rookie Erubiel Durazo lofted a sacrifice fly. Brian Meadows pitched well but got the loss, giving up four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He has received a decision in 16 consecutive starts, going 7-9 in that span.
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