SAN FRANCISCO — The youngster was no match for the master.
Randy Johnson, the Giants’ 45-year-old lefty, notched the 297th victory of his career, striking out nine and allowing four hits in seven shutout innings as the Giants squeaked by the Rockies 3-2.
Pitching for the Rockies was right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, 20 years Johnson’s junior.
Jimenez, who fell to 1-4, brought 95 mph heat and pitched his best game since April 7 in Arizona. In seven innings Jimenez gave up three runs on five hits. The crazy mechanical difficulties that plagued him in his last three starts were, for the most part, cleaned up.
But while Jimenez was solid, Johnson was almost untouchable in leading the Giants to their eighth win in 10 games.
In the early going, with a cold rain blowing in and Johnson perplexing the Rockies seemingly with every pitch, one couldn’t help but flash back to Sept. 16, 1996 at Coors Field. On that nasty night in Colorado, the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo no-hit the Rockies in a 9-0 Dodgers victory.
Finally, with two outs in the fourth, Todd Helton put a stop to Johnson’s perfection, dribbling a single up the middle that second baseman Emmanuel Burriss knocked down but couldn’t make a play on.
Johnson improved to 19-7 in 28 career starts against the Rockies, his ERA a miserly 2.23. He struck out the first five batters he faced, his slider making the Rockies look silly. It was as though Johnson had been transported back to the 2002 game in which he struck out 17 Rockies while wearing an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform.
“Johnson is tough,” Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “He throws that tight slider and you think it’s going to be a strike and then it dives to your shoe-tops.”
Once Johnson departed, the Rockies made it interesting, scoring two runs in the eighth.
Chris Iannetta opened the inning with a solo homer to left off of reliever Bob Howry. It was Iannetta’s fourth homer this season and fourth homer at AT&T Park in just 16 games.
An infield RBI single by Helton against former Rockies reliever Jeremy Affeldt put the Rockies within striking distance. But closer Brian Wilson entered the game an inning early to strike out Ryan Spilborghs with the bases loaded, ending the threat.
The Giants scratched out their first run in the second, combining Fred Lewis’ infield single down the first-base line with Travis Ishikawa’s double off the center-field wall.
Jimenez’s short bout of wildness got him in trouble in the third and put the Giants ahead 2-0. Jimenez walked Randy Winn and Edgar Renteria to open the inning. Winn stole third and scored on Bengie Molina’s sacrifice fly.
In the seventh, the Giants used a base hit from Ishikawa, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to score their third run off Jimenez.
“A lot of improvement was made tonight by Ubaldo, a very encouraging outing,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. “Seven innings, five hits — that’s a professional job by our pitcher out there tonight. He just drew a tough match.”
Jimenez was also encouraged.
“In the first innings I wasn’t as sharp, but in the last innings I was able to throw my fastball for strikes,” he said. “I feel good about (going seven innings) because I know the guys in the bullpen have had to work a lot.”
The Rockies’ best chance to rattle Johnson came in the sixth, but it ended with Helton grounding into a double play. Dexter Fowler had reached on a one-out single and advanced to third on a Matt Murton hit-and-run single through the right side. But a Johnson slider shattered Helton’s bat, resulting in a weak double-play grounder to second.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
Rockies Recap
Rockies’ Iannetta feels right at home (run) in AT&T Park
Chris Iannetta is starting to get his groove back. He crushed a 2-1 pitch from reliever Bob Howry deep into the left-field seats in the eighth, cutting the Giants’ lead to 3-1. It was Iannetta’s fourth homer of the season. The catcher loves coming to the plate at AT&T Park. He has four home runs in 16 games here.
Murton starts.
Matt Murton, called up Wednesday from Triple-A Colorado Springs, made his first start in a Rockies uniform. Giants lefty Randy Johnson greeted Murton with a five-pitch strikeout in the first. In the sixth, however, Murton perfectly executed a hit-and-run, slicing the ball through the right side of the infield for a single and sending Dexter Fowler from first to third.
Hawpe’s status.
Although right fielder Brad Hawpe has recovered from a bruised neck, the left-hander didn’t start Friday because he is 0-for-9 against Johnson in his career. Ryan Spilborghs started in right. Murton, a right-hander, started in left.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Looking Ahead
TODAY: Rockies at Giants, 2 p.m., no TV
Rain is forecast for today’s game. So is a pitching duel. The Rockies go with right-hander Jason Marquis (3-1, 4.10), their best pitcher in the first month of the season. If his sinkerball is suited to Coors Field, it’s even more suited to AT&T Park, where his ERA is 2.21 over 36 2/3 innings. Marquis has done a little bit of everything for Colorado. He has been used as a pinch runner, has three sacrifices, is hitting .500 (4-for-8) and has driven in three runs. The Giants counter with right-hander Matt Cain (2-0, 2.08), who’s off to a terrific start. He’s fresh off his fourth-consecutive quality start, allowing just one run over seven innings, though he failed to get the victory. Cain is 6-4 with a 3.01 ERA against the Rockies in 13 starts.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Upcoming Pitching Matchups
Sunday:
Rockies’ Jason Hammel (0-0, 5.59) vs. Giants’ Barry Zito (0-2, 5.24), 2:05 p.m, FSN
Monday:
Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (0-2, 3.57) vs. Padres’ Kevin Correia (0-2, 4.71), 8:05 p.m., FSN
Tuesday:
Rockies’ Aaron Cook (1-1, 7.11) vs. Padres’ Josh Geer (0-0, 5.29), 8:05 p.m., FSN
Wednesday:
Giants’ Randy Johnson (2-2, 4.50) vs. Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (1-4, 6.58), 6:40 p.m., FSN
