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  Sunday, May 21 1:10pm ET
Mets rough up Big Unit in victory
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Big Unit piled up more big numbers Sunday -- not just strikeouts, but doubles and home runs.

"I feel like I let one get away," Randy Johnson said after getting a no-decision in his worst outing of the year, the New York Mets' 7-6 victory over his Arizona Diamondbacks.

Derek Bell
Derek Bell's single to right in the bottom of the ninth scored Joe McEwing for the victory.
Johnson, who won his first seven starts before losing at Montreal last week, struck out 13 in 6 2/3 innings. He also gave up five runs and eight hits -- all for extra bases.

He had allowed just 15 extra-base hits in 74 1/3 innings coming in and hadn't given up more than two earned runs in any appearance.

"His mistakes, there aren't many of them, and you have to jump on them when you can," said Mike Piazza, who drove a 492-foot home run into the left-field mezzanine.

That shot, in the third inning, woke up Johnson, who struck out the next five batters and 10 of the next 12.

"Piazza hit a ball that's probably still circling the stadium right now," Johnson said a half-hour after the game.

New York's first three batters, Joe McEwing, Derek Bell and Edgardo Alfonzo, doubled on consecutive pitches in the first inning for a 2-1 lead, and Piazza's 12th homer tied it at 3.

After Travis Lee's two-run homer off Rick Reed put Arizona ahead 5-3 in the sixth, Johnson blew it in the seventh, allowing solo homers to McEwing and Edgardo Alfonzo -- who also homered off him in the opener of last year's NL playoffs.

New York, which completed a three-game sweep and stretched its winning streak to four, fell behind again on Steve Finley's eighth-inning homer off Dennis Cook, but Robin Ventura tied it with a pinch-hit homer in the bottom half off Mike Morgan.

The Mets won it in the ninth against Byung-Hyun Kim (2-2) when McEwing walked, stole second and came around on Bell's single, just beyond the reach of a diving Lee in right. It was the Mets' 10th hit of the game -- and their first single.

"It's awesome!" said Bell, who raised his hands in triumph after the hit.

Johnson matched his season strikeout high, reaching double figures for the ninth time in 10 starts this year and the 134th time in his career, but his league-leading ERA rose from 0.97 to 1.44.

While he walked just two -- one intentionally -- he struggled with his control and kept the damage down only because he three times stranded runners who reached second with no outs

"Obviously, he's created a very high standard for himself, one that's tough to do every time out," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said. "We have at no time assumed or taken for granted what he does."

Johnson, who has trimmed his shaggy hair a bit, glared at plate umpire Tim Timmons, who called a ball on the 1-1 pitch to McEwing in the seventh. McEwing homered on the next pitch, and Johnson shot the ump a look when Showalter pulled him after Alfonzo's homer.

"I'm not going to make excuses," Johnson said of the umpiring.

"I think we were just fortunate to catch him on what I wouldn't call a bad day, but he just obviously had a little trouble with his command," Piazza said.

McEwing doubled twice off Johnson, and Bell, Alfonzo and Rey Ordonez each doubled once. McEwing, who got his first homer of the season, had been 2-for-12 in his career against the Big Unit but went 3-for-4 against him.

"It's definitely a a challenge to face a guy like that," McEwing said.

McEwing, called up May 13 when the Mets decided to release Rickey Henderson, had the homer, a pair of doubles, a walk, three runs scored and a steal. He raised his average from .190 to .280 (7-for-25).

"He's a good little ballplayer," Johnson said.

Notes: The Mets beat the Diamondbacks 8-4 in the opener of last year's NL playoffs series, Johnson gave up seven runs in 8 1/3 innings. ... Bell had been 1-for-8 against him. ... Turk Wendell (3-2) pitched a perfect ninth. ... Arizona has lost six of seven following a nine-game winning streak and five straight at Shea Stadium, including two in last year's playoffs. ... Johnson has 113 strikeouts in 81 innings. ... Mets INF-OF Melvin Mora will be heading to Norfolk for a rehabilitation assignment. Last weekend, he cut his index finger and took four stitches. ... Only Nolan Ryan (215) has more games reaching double digits in strikeouts. ... Ventura also had a pinch homer at Toronto on May 28, 1996. The Mets other pinch-hit homer this year was by Benny Agbayani, who hit a grand slam on March 30 against the Cubs at Tokyo.

 


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