20 Strikeouts, but No Record

Randy Johnson got 20 strikeouts but not the glory.

Johnson became only the third pitcher to strike out 20 in nine innings but missed out on tying the record because the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds went to extra innings Tuesday night, the Diamondbacks winning, 4-3, in 11 innings.

Johnson became the first left-hander to strike out 20, but didn’t join Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood, who share the record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

Clemens struck out 20 for the Boston Red Sox against the Seattle Mariners on April 29, 1986, and did it again for the Red Sox against the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 18, 1996. Wood struck out 20 for the Chicago Cubs against the Houston Astros on May 6, 1998.

The major league record for an extra-inning game is 21 by Tom Cheney for the Washington Senators against the Baltimore Orioles in a 16-inning game on Sept. 12, 1962.

The Elias Sports Bureau, baseball’s statistician, said Johnson’s performance will be considered as occurring in an extra-inning game even though he came out after nine.

Johnson threw 124 pitches, 92 for strikes, and walked none before Byung-Hyun Kim relieved to start the 10th.

Johnson struck out the side in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings, and fanned two batters in the first, second, third, fifth and eighth. He struck out only one in the sixth.

The 37-year-old pitcher, known as the “Big Unit,” won the last two National League Cy Young Awards and the American League Cy Young in 1995.

He had 18 strikeouts in the first eight innings, then struck out pinch-hitter Deion Sanders on three pitches leading off the ninth.

Johnson gave up a groundout to Donnie Sadler, then struck out Juan Castro swinging. The pitcher raised his right arm in celebration and tipped his cap as he walked off the field.

Bank One Ballpark put a “K” on the scoreboard for each strikeout, but the board ran out of room before Johnson reached 20. Additional “Ks” were then tacked on the side of the board, with lights forming “20” in the middle.

Johnson struck out Barry Larkin and Alex Ochoa three times apiece; and Castro, Pokey Reese, Chris Reitsma, Ruben Rivera, Sadler, Kelly Stinnett twice each. He fanned Aaron Boone and Sanders once.

Johnson, who struck out nine of his first 12 batters and eight of his last nine, gave up three hits.

He had a perfect game going until Boone singled with one out in the fifth. Boone stole second and scored when Rivera singled up the middle. Cincinnati’s third hit against Johnson was a sixth-inning single by Sadler.

The Diamondbacks tied the score on a run-scoring single by Reggie Sanders in the sixth against Reitsma.

Cincinnati went ahead, 3-1, in the 11th when Russ Springer loaded the bases on two walks and an error, and Ochoa hit a two-run sacrifice fly to deep center field against Troy Brohawn (1-1).

But Mark Grace hit a two-run double and pinch-hitter Matt Williams walked with the bases loaded in the bottom half against Danny Graves (1-1), who blew a save for the second time in 11 chances.

*

DODGERS

Derrek Lee homers and drives in three runs to lift Florida past the Dodgers, 7-6. The loss is L.A.’s fourth in five games. D3

ANGELS

Anaheim left-hander Jarrod Washburn’s superb pitching effort at Chicago is wasted in a 2-0 loss to the White Sox. D4

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The Amazing Randy

Most strikeouts in nine innings, with date and opponent:

20--RANDY JOHNSON Arizona vs. Cincinnati, May 8, 2001

20--KERRY WOOD Chicago Cubs vs. Houston, May 6, 1998

20--ROGER CLEMENS Boston at Detroit, Sept. 18, 1996

20--ROGER CLEMENS Boston vs. Seattle, April 29, 1986

19--RANDY JOHNSON Seattle vs. Chicago White Sox, Aug. 8, 1997

19--RANDY JOHNSON Seattle vs. Oakland, June 24, 1997

19--DAVID CONE New York Mets at Philadelphia, Oct. 6, 1991

19--NOLAN RYAN Angels vs. Boston, Aug. 12, 1974

19--TOM SEAVER New York Mets vs. San Diego, April 22, 1970

19--STEVE CARLTON St. Louis vs. New York Mets, Sept. 15, 1969