Johnson, Yankees Flirt With No-Hitter

Randy Johnson will turn 43 before his next start. Johnson threw 42 an impressive going-away party.

Johnson took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and Jorge Posada backed him with a pair of three-run homers in the New York Yankees’ 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

“It’s remarkable, it really is. For power pitchers to pitch into their 40s -- Roger did it, Nolan did it, Carlton tried to do it -- it’s certainly not something that comes down the pipe all the time,” Yankees Manager Joe Torre said, referring to Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton.

Johnson (16-10) didn’t give up a hit until David DeJesus tripled leading off the seventh inning.

Earlier Wednesday, Florida’s Anibal Sanchez pitched a no-hitter against Arizona, the first no-hitter in the major leagues since Johnson’s perfect game for Arizona at Atlanta on May 18, 2004.

“I was coming up here between innings when I saw it,” Johnson said. “Congratulations to him.”

Johnson, 5-1 in his last six starts, gave up only one hit and struck out eight in seven shutout innings, walking two. He had faced the minimum 18 batters before the triple -- he walked Emil Brown in the second but Ryan Shealy grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“I warmed up good, and the slider was probably my best pitch tonight,” Johnson said. “I was able to locate my fastball a couple of pitches up and away, and then I had good defense. Jorgie called a great game and then did everything by himself pretty much, offensively.”

After his triple, DeJesus was picked off third by Posada.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games, going two for four. He raised his batting average to .344, one point behind Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, the AL leader.

New York’s Jason Giambi broke an 0-for-21 hitless streak with a double to center in the sixth inning.