Johnson Strikes Out 13, Gets 14th Win

Randy Johnson eluded a flying bat, and then survived an even greater peril when the beleaguered Arizona bullpen finally managed to protect a lead.

Johnson struck out 13 and the Diamondbacks, who blew late-inning leads while losing the first two games of the series in extra innings, defeated the Oakland Athletics, 4-2, Sunday at Oakland to avoid a three-game sweep.

“We needed that after a couple of tough losses,” said Matt Mantei, who struck out all three batters he faced to get his fourth save.

“It was good to get the bullpen in there today, and to get the job done.”

Johnson (14-2), who gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings, heads into the All-Star break leading the NL in wins, ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (198). It is the best pre-break record of his career, topping the 12-2 mark and 2.20 ERA in 1997.

Johnson, who attended high school in nearby Livermore, said pitching in Oakland still is special.

“This is the most exciting park for me to pitch in, because I came here when I was younger and watched the A’s play,” he said. “I still consider this home.”

Johnson, 21-3 in his last 31 regular-season starts, recorded his 13th game with 10 or more strikeouts this year. He has 138 such games overall, trailing only Nolan Ryan’s 215.

Cleveland 5, Cincinnati 3--Omar Vizquel hit his third homer in two games and Ken Griffey Jr. was ejected as the Indians won at Cincinnati to split the intrastate season series.

Bartolo Colon (9-5) struck out eight and limited the Reds to three hits in six innings, including Hal Morris’ pinch-homer in the sixth.

The Reds’ Scott Williamson (2-6), the NL’s rookie of the year as a reliever in 1999, made his first major league start.

Griffey, who pulled out of the All-Star game because of a sore right knee, was ejected by home plate umpire Justin Klemm after arguing a called third strike in the eighth.

“I don’t get mad very often,” Griffey said. “If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize to him. If he’s wrong, we’ll shake hands and go out and do our jobs.”

Aaron Boone, who came in to play third after Griffey’s ejection, twisted his strained left knee while trying to field a grounder in the ninth and limped off the field.

Houston 9, Kansas City 6--Jose Lima ended a personal 13-game losing streak despite giving up three homers over seven innings, and Lance Berkman drove in four runs with two homers for the Astros at Houston.

Lima (2-13) hadn’t won since his first start of the season. After a slow start Lima settled in, tying his season high with eight strikeouts.

Toronto 13, Montreal 3--Raul Mondesi homered for the third consecutive game and Frank Castillo won his fifth consecutive decision as the Blue Jays won at Montreal.

The Blue Jays won two of three from Montreal to finish 6-7 on their longest trip of the season. The Blue Jays had a season-high 18 hits off six pitchers, and the 13 runs tied a season high, also against Montreal, on June 9.

Milwaukee 10, Detroit 3--Tyler Houston hit three home runs and Jason Bere gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings for Milwaukee.

Houston tied his career-high with six RBIs, hitting a two-run homer in each of his first three at-bats.

It was the eighth three-homer game in the majors this season.

Chicago Cubs 9, Chicago White Sox 6--The Cubs took two of three at Wrigley Field in the wrapup of their interleague series as Sammy Sosa hit a two-run homer in a four-run sixth inning.

Henry Rodriguez had four RBIs with his fifth homer in nine games and a bases-loaded single for the Cubs.

The White Sox, with the majors’ best record at 55-32, hit four homers--two by Carlos Lee and one each by Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez.

Lee went nine for 13 in the weekend series.

Florida 10, Tampa Bay 9--Preston Wilson homered and drove in a career-high four runs and Cliff Floyd added a three-run shot as the Marlins beat the Devil Rays at Miami.

Wilson doubled in Floyd from second base in the fourth inning to give the Marlins a 5-4 lead, and in the fifth he hit a three-run homer to make the score 9-5.

The Devil Rays pulled within one when Gerald Williams hit a three-run home run off Brad Penny in the seventh.

Boston 7, Atlanta 2--Nomar Garciaparra homered twice and scored three times for the Red Sox at Boston.

Tim Wakefield (5-5) won his third consecutive start, giving up two runs and six hits in seven innings.

Minnesota 3, Pittsburgh 2--Corey Koskie homered and drove in three runs to back Mark Redman’s effective pitching at Pittsburgh as the Twins ended a seven-game losing streak.

Redman (6-4) gave up a run and five hits over seven innings to prevent a sweep and keep the Pirates from winning five in a row.

Baltimore 5, Philadelphia 4--Will Clark’s two-run single in the ninth lifted the Orioles to a comeback victory at Philadelphia.

Jeff Brantley (1-2) blew his first save in 14 chances.

San Diego 4, Texas 3--Trevor Hoffman earned his 250th save as the Padres won at Arlington, Texas, to end the Rangers’ five-game winning streak.

Hoffman entered with runners on first and second and two out in the eighth inning. Luis Alicea flied to right on the first pitch. In the ninth, Hoffman was saved when left fielder Damian Jackson made a diving catch of a shot by Chad Curtis.

Hoffman became the 17th pitcher with 250 saves.