Adam Ulrey's Montreal Expos Diary

July 31, 2002 - Game 107
Johnson baffles Expos hitters in Arizona's 5-1 win

Randy Johnson is back to feeling good about his pitching and that's bad news for the rest of the National League. Johnson struck out 15 as he pitched his third complete game of the season in leading the Diamondbacks to the 5-1 victory over the Expos on Wednesday night.

"I felt locked in," said Johnson (15-4), who raised his season total to 215 and moved past his teammate Curt Schilling for the major league lead. The four-time Cy Young Award winner, pitched seven scoreless innings in his last start, had his second straight solid outing after getting lit up by San Diego for eight runs in five innings in the Diamondbacks' 11-9 loss. Johnson was tough tonight-scattering eight hits and only walked three to go along with those 15 K's. He lost his chance for his second shutout of the season after Jose Macias singled in Andres Galarraga in the ninth for the Expos only run of the game. It was Johnson's first complete game since April 21, when he pitched a two-hitter in a 7-1 win over Colorado. Johnson threw 149 pitches and now has 82 complete games for his brilliant career.

Luis Gonzalez gave the Big Unit all the runs he would need with his 22nd homer off Masato Yoshii leading off the second, and then added an RBI double later in the game to give him 81 RBIs on the year. Johnson now has struck out 10 or more batters 180 times in his career, second only to his idol Nolan Ryan the Hall of Famer who did it 215 times in his career. In games where Johnson gets 10 strikeouts, his record is a tremendous 120-31.

Yoshii had his third solid outing for the Expos going seven innings giving up just five hits and three runs to watch his record drop to 2-4 on the year. Galarraga continues to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 in the game against Johnson, to see his average rise to .303. It doesn't get any easier for the Expos, as the NL wins leader Curt Schilling pitches tomorrow, looking for his 19th win against the Expos Tomo Ohka, who is looking to rebound back from his worst outing of the year in his last start.