Dazzling statistics and Randy Johnson go hand in hand.
Coming into Tuesday’s game, the Mariners’ intimidating 6-foot, 10-inch lefty was trying to improve upon some gaudy stats. He had 102 strikeouts in 72 innings, an average of 12.75 per nine innings. He has walked just 23. And Johnson, in an era when managers hook a pitcher when he nears or barely exceeds 100 pitches, had averaged a remarkable 132.2 pitches in his last five starts.
Johnson threw 126 pitches in seven innings Tuesday. He yielded five hits, walked three and struck out 10.
In a 23-pitch first inning, Johnson walked Tim Raines and Frank Thomas crushed a 3-and-0 pitch for a two-run homer that tied the score 2-2. Johnson came back to fan Robin Ventura and Mike Devereaux to end the inning.
Pick up the pace: Post All-Star Game rules changes will be made to quicken the pace of games, because fans indicated in surveys that they don’t like games that drag on for three hours or longer. When Sox manager Terry Bevington was a fan, however, he preferred long games.
“I wanted it tied so the Dodgers could win in extra innings,” said Bevington. “I wanted the games to go four or five hours.
“That’s a beautiful thing about baseball,” said Bevington. “You can’t run the clock out. You’ve got to get 27 outs.”
