No Relief for Johnson as Rangers Rally, 3-2

No matter how well Randy Johnson pitches, the Arizona Diamondbacks find a way to lose.

Johnson shut out the Texas Rangers for eight innings Thursday night only to see closer Matt Mantei walk the bases loaded and give up a three-run double to Mark McLemore with two outs in the ninth, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory at Arlington, Texas.

“I turned an easy save situation into a loss,” said Mantei, who was a strike away from ending the game on three of the last four hitters. “Randy pitched his butt off and I couldn’t finish it.”

Johnson gave up six hits over eight innings, but--for the fifth consecutive start--had nothing to show for it.

He lost his last four games as the Diamondbacks were shut out each time. It was only the 10th time since 1900 that a pitcher lost four consecutive games while his team went scoreless.

This loss had to be the most disappointing because Johnson pitched with the lead all night after a first-inning run-scoring single by Matt Williams. Jay Bell added a solo homer in the eighth, his 25th.

“It was a tough loss for the team,” said Johnson, who has given up five earned runs over his last 40 innings, dropping his earned-run average to 2.80 from 3.36.

Mantei (1-3) was acquired last week from the Florida Marlins to avoid disasters like this, not cause them.

He got the first two outs on a strikeout and a comebacker, then tied a major league record by walking three pinch-hitters. It was the eighth time three pinch-hitters had walked in an inning, but only the second time they’ve gone in a row.

Mantei, who saved his Arizona debut on Sunday, had a 2-2 count on McLemore when he drove the ball into the right-center field gap.

Rusty Greer and pinch-runner Scarborough Green scored easily as right fielder Tony Womack knocked the ball down. Lee Stevens slid home well before the throw from center fielder Steve Finley reached the plate.

Chicago Cubs 9, Minnesota 3--Sammy Sosa broke out of a slump with his major-league leading 33rd homer and a double, and Henry Rodriguez hit a three-run shot at Chicago.

The Cubs, who play 21 of their next 27 games at Wrigley Field, finished with 17 hits.

Rodriguez gave Chicago a 4-2 lead in the fifth, connecting for his 16th homer following a walk to Sosa and single by Mark Grace against Brad Radke (6-8).

Sosa, who earlier ended an 0-for-12 skid with a seventh-inning double, hit a two-run homer in the eighth against Bob Wells. It was his first homer since July 4.

Atlanta 6, New York Yankees 2--In only the second regular-season matchup of reigning Cy Young winners, Tom Glavine was a winner over Roger Clemens at New York.

Behind Glavine (8-8), Atlanta won its third in a row in the meeting of first-place teams. New York, which beat the Braves in the 1996 World Series, is 4-4 against them in three years of interleague play.

But Clemens (8-4) struggled, and the fans showed no sympathy. Still waiting for him to show his Hall of Fame stuff in pinstripes, they booed loudly when he was chased during a three-run seventh inning that left him with a 4.98 ERA.

Brian Jordan, who met with owner George Steinbrenner at Yankee Stadium during his free-agent tour in the off-season, drove in three runs. Javy Lopez, sidelined since June 20 because of an injured right knee, drove in Atlanta’s other three runs.

The Braves hoped to see Glavine do well in the first game after the All-Star break, and he left after 6 2/3 innings with a 6-2 lead. Clemens, though, gave up six runs on six hits and five walks in six-plus innings.

The only other time defending Cy Young winners faced each other in the regular season came on Aug. 28, 1989, when Frank Viola led the New York Mets over Orel Hershiser of the Dodgers, 1-0, at Dodger Stadium.

Boston 6, Philadelphia 4--Five homers flew out of Fenway Park as the Red Sox held on for the win two days after Mark McGwire and the other All-Stars fell short of the fences at Boston.

There were three leadoff homers in the first two innings, by Philadelphia’s Doug Glanville and Boston’s Jose Offerman in the first and Boston’s Jason Varitek in the second.

Oakland 11, San Francisco 9--Olmedo Saenz hit a three-run home run with two out in the bottom of the ninth at Oakland, capping an Athletic rally from a 9-4 deficit.

New York Mets 8, Tampa Bay 7--Roger Cedeno’s RBI double in the 10th inning lifted the Mets at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Cedeno, who was two for five with three RBIs, lined a 1-0 pitch over the head of center fielder Randy Winn, one out after Benny Agbayani doubled to left-center against Norm Charlton (0-1).

Florida 8, Toronto 6--Mike Lowell hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning at Toronto as the Marlins continued their dominance in interleague play.

The Marlins are 29-15 since interleague play began in 1997, 9-4 this year.

Baltimore 8, Montreal 2--Albert Belle homered and drove in four runs and Sidney Ponson scattered 11 hits at Baltimore in his American League-high fourth complete game.

Cal Ripken left the game after being hit in the right wrist by a pitch from Montreal starter Mike Thurman. The injury was diagnosed as a bruise, and his status will be reevaluated today.

St. Louis 3, Chicago White Sox 2--Rick Croushore scored from first when Greg Norton threw away a 13th-inning bunt at St. Louis.

Mark McGwire hit his 29th home run as the Cardinals won for only the second time in six extra-inning home games. The White Sox had no hits during the last five innings.

Cincinnati 10, Colorado 7--Greg Vaughn homered and drove in three runs for the Reds in a National League game at Cincinnati.

Kansas City at Milwaukee--Postponed because of Wednesday’s accident at Miller Park, the game was rescheduled for today as part of a doubleheader.