Thursday, May 06, 1999

DIAMONDBACKS 5, REDS 1

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No match for Big Unit

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Randy Johnson stymied the Reds on four hits. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        The Cinergy Field audience of 16,247 cheered sarcastically when Reds third baseman Aaron Boone finally removed the weighted doughnut from his bat after a brief but obvious struggle in the seventh inning.

        For most of Wednesday night, the Reds swung their bats as if the weights remained stuck.

        But the team with the major leagues' lowest batting average (.234) had a legitimate excuse, since Randy Johnson was pitching for the opposing Arizona Diamondbacks. Affirming that he's more than just a really tall guy who throws incredibly hard, Johnson smothered Cincinnati with a four-hit, complete-game effort in Arizona's 5-1 victory.

        The Reds had no reason to feel gloomy after Johnson dispatched them in a brisk two-hour, 15-minute affair. They managed to win two of the series' three games, though their modest three-game home winning streak vanished in the mist of Johnson's 110 pitches.

Steve Avery beckons for a new ball after a homer by Jay Bell. | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati actually improved upon its recent efforts against other staff aces. Atlanta's John Smoltz fired a one-hit shutout last Friday, three days after Philadelphia's Curt Schilling blanked them for nine innings on five hits in an extra-inning game. The Reds actually scored off Johnson, which they failed to do last Sept. 7 when he struck out 14 in a 1-0 victory during his brief Houston Astros tenure.

        What Johnson reinforced this time was that beyond his baleful stare and blistering fastball, which was clocked at 94-to-mph but twice reached the 97-to-mph level, he's extremely skilled in the art of pitching.

        Though the 6-foot-10 left-hander struck out “only” eight, he walked none while recording his 58th career complete game. Each of the hits he yielded came with two outs, helping minimize trouble.

        The Reds actually made authoritative contact off Johnson in the second inning, when left fielder Luis Gonzalez made nice catches of drives hit by Greg Vaughn and Barry Larkin. “If he doesn't make those plays, it changes the complexion of the game,” a grateful Johnson said of Gonzalez.

Steve Finley steals second as the throw eludes Barry Larkin. | ZOOM |

        After Boone doubled, Johnson retired nine Reds in a row until Brian Johnson doubled and Pokey Reese lined an RBI single in the fifth.

        “I had better stuff in San Diego,” said Randy Johnson (3-1), referring to an April 25 start in which he struck out 11. “But as far as everything working, throwing strikes, I was pleased with tonight.”

        So were the Reds, in a humble way.

        “You've got to battle and be locked in because you know you're facing the best,” said Boone, who doubled in three at-bats. “I'm glad I don't have to do it every day, but at the same time you kind of relish it.”

        Good pitching was expected to dominate the series finale, since it was also Steve Avery's turn to work for the Reds. But Arizona scored off Avery (1-3) in each of the first four innings.

        The Reds left-hander failed to last seven innings for the first time this season, having maintained his durability for five consecutive starts. He pitched five innings, surrendering seven hits and all of Arizona's runs. Jay Bell was Avery's biggest menace, belting a homer and a two-run single.

        “The way I've been throwing, I feel like I can match up against anybody,” Avery said. “But if you spot (Johnson) five runs, you're not going to beat him.”

        Statistically, Avery appeared to be Johnson's equal before the game. Opponents were batting just .162 against Avery, tops in the National League, while Johnson ranked third at .204. Johnson's 63 strikeouts were the most in the majors; Avery's 2.02 ERA ranked third in the NL.

        Avery praised the Diamondbacks for solving his change-up, which has been his best pitch.

        “I probably wasn't getting it as down as I had in the past, but they had a lot better approach than any team I faced this year, as far as waiting and taking the ball to right field,” he said.

        Bell did just that in the fourth inning, lining an 0-2 pitch to right with two outs and the bases loaded to give the Diamondbacks their final runs.

        “I've done a good job all year of not giving up hits in that situation and tonight I wasn't able to do that,” Avery said.

        But he shouldn't have felt too dejected.

        “We didn't give this game away,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “We just got beat.”

       

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