Johnson Delivers in Big Way

Several Dodgers believed Monday night’s 18-run demolition of Arizona and Tuesday night’s one-run victory over the Diamondbacks sent a strong message to the defending World Series champions, that the Dodgers posed a serious threat for the National League West title.

Wednesday came Arizona’s reply to all: Randy Johnson dominated the Dodgers, giving up one run and three hits and striking out eight in nine innings to lead the Diamondbacks to a 7-1 victory that reestablished Arizona as the division favorite and humbled the surging Dodgers.

Though the Dodgers won their ninth series in a row and were pleased to complete a six-game trip through Houston and Arizona with a 4-2 record, Wednesday’s loss resulted in a significant swing in the standings.

The Dodgers trail the Diamondbacks by five games--they could have trimmed the lead to three with a win Wednesday--with 23 games to play. They remain 2 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the wild-card race.

“Is it a missed opportunity? Yes and no,” Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “They just beat us, and Randy was tough. Had we lost, 5-4, maybe we would have looked at it as a missed opportunity. But they’re the world champions, so everyone has to go through them.”

Everyone has rolled through the Diamondbacks lately--Arizona had lost six of seven before Wednesday’s game, scoring two runs or fewer in five of the losses.

But Matt Williams’ three-run home run and Steve Finley’s solo homer helped stake Johnson to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, and the 6-foot-10 left-hander was almost untouchable as he improved his record to 20-5 and lowered his earned-run average to 2.57.

Johnson, who leads the major leagues with 293 strikeouts this season, passed Bert Blyleven and moved into fourth place on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with his sixth-inning whiff of pinch-hitter Jolbert Cabrera, which gave him 3,702 strikeouts in his career.

Johnson started the year in ninth place on the strikeout list, but he has passed Walter Johnson, Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, Tom Seaver and Blyleven, pushing his total to 3,705 strikeouts Wednesday.

With the victory, Johnson and Arizona right-hander Curt Schilling (21-5) also became the first teammates to win 20 games in consecutive seasons since 1970-71, when Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar each won 20 games for the Baltimore Orioles.

“I picked up the paper [Wednesday morning] and everyone was ripping [the Diamondbacks],” Lo Duca said. “Give me a break. They’re just going through a dry spell right now, but they’re not going anywhere, believe me. They’re a good club, a veteran club.”

The Dodgers feel the same way about themselves, especially after going 8-4 during a 12-game stretch against NL East-leading Atlanta, Arizona and NL Central-contender Houston. The Dodgers won four of six against the Diamondbacks in that span.

“There’s no doubt we know we can beat them,” Dodger third baseman Adrian Beltre said. “We won the season series (10-9) against them, we beat Randy Johnson before. If we go to the playoffs, we know we can beat this team.”

Not if they stumble out of the gate the way they did Wednesday. Dodger right-hander Andy Ashby’s ERA did not take a beating--all five Arizona runs in the first were unearned--but Ashby did.

Tony Womack opened with a single and was initially ruled out on a stolen-base attempt, but he kicked the ball out of shortstop Cesar Izturis’ glove with his slide and was safe.

David Dellucci lined Ashby’s next pitch into center field for an RBI single. Junior Spivey popped out and Luis Gonzalez struck out looking, but Ashby, who walked nine in nine innings of his last two starts, lost his control and threw six straight balls, walking Erubiel Durazo and falling behind Williams, 2 and 0.

Williams sat on a fastball, Ashby threw one up and over the middle of the plate, and Williams lifted a towering three-run home run to left for a 4-0 lead. Finley then ripped an 0-2 pitch deep into the right-field seats for his 21st homer of the season and a 5-0 lead. Johnson padded the lead with a two-run double in the eighth.

Shawn Green hit his 40th homer with two out in the ninth. Green, who hit 49 homers in 2001, became the first Dodger since Duke Snider (43 home runs in 1955, 45 in 1956) to hit 40 homers or more in consecutive seasons.

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*--* Unit Measure Before Wednesday, Randy Johnson had experienced only marginal success against the Dodgers this season: Date IP H R ER BB SO May 26 5 8 7 7 2 5 Decision: None. Despite getting his 3,059th strikeout to move to eighth on the all-time list, Johnson gave up three home runs and couldn’t hold a four-run lead. But Arizona came back ton win, 10-9 May 31 8 6 3 0 1 4 Decision: Win. With the exception of a three-run home run given up to Marquis Grissom in the seventh, Johnson was in control through eight innings of a 6-3 Arizona victory July 1 7 9 4 3 0 6 Decision: Loss. A run-scoring double by opposing pitcher Hideo Nomo broke a scoreless tie in the seventh in the Dodgers’ 4-0 victory July 11 6 6 3 3 2 5 Decision: None. Johnson blew a one-run lead when he allowed Adrian Beltre’s home run in the sixth, although Arizona came back to win, 4-3 Sept. 4 9 3 1 1 0 8 Decision: Win. Johnson just missed a shutout, a ninth-inning home run by Shawn Green the only flaw in a 7-1 Arizona victory Note: Johnson’s earned-run average in 35 innings against the Dodgers is 3.60, compared to a 2.57 average overall

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