MATCHUP FAILS TO MEASURE UP.Byline: Tom Hoffarth Daily News Staff Writer Kevin Brown The name Kevin Brown can refer to several different people, including the following:
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit each faced 29 batters in Monday's season opener at Dodger Stadium • • [ . Together they surrendered seven earned runs and four homers among 15 hits. They walked eight. And each hit a batter. Meaning this highly anticipated matchup of free-agent saviors didn't do much to disprove disprove, v to refute or to prove false by affirmative evidence to the contrary. that the game is all about offense. The two sizzlers fizzled out into no-decision purgatory. Neither was around by the 11th when the Dodgers finished off an 8-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. , but that was mostly because of their own undoing innings earlier. Which gave the writer from Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated is the largest weekly American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the country. here to do a story on the marquee duel for this week's magazine his angle after the sixth inning: just another overhyped Hollywood flop. At least, from a pitchers' standpoint. Raul Mondesi wouldn't think so. Of the two, only Johnson could have limped off with any form of dignity. He experienced some tightness in a sore groin muscle but worked around that and six walks to leave his team ahead 6-2. But there wasn't much for Johnson to be satisfied about after five Diamondbacks relievers gave up six runs and nine hits in the last four innings. At least he didn't leave to boos as Brown did after giving up Jay Bell's three- run homer with two outs in the sixth. ``I have to be sharper to be successful,'' Johnson admitted. ``I stayed calm and focused. It was an emotional game, but I thought I had it under control considering I hadn't pitched to almost anyone in that lineup before except (Devon) White (who homered off him in the fourth). ``I got the run support, but walks are always going to be my biggest drawback.'' Johnson had reached 125 pitches through the seventh, which started with him running off the mound after two pitches to Todd Hundley Todd made his major league debut with the New York Mets on May 18, 1990 when he was only 20 years old. because a wrap on his inner thigh had unrolled on him. Johnson took it off, struck out Hundley and got out of a men-on-first-and-third situation by fanning Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (born June 30, 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Kansas City Royals. Previously, Grudzielanek played with the Montreal Expos (1995-1998), Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2002), Chicago Cubs . But Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter hit for Johnson in the top of the eighth. ``I went seven; that's all I was asked to do,'' said Johnson, who last pitched on the Dodger Stadium mound when he was a junior at USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , against the Dodgers in an exhibition. ``I think we did send a message to everyone that maybe this team suffered some bumps and bruises last year, but we're not backing down to anyone.'' Dodgers fans weren't backing down to Brown, either. But boos on opening day? ``I'd have booed myself, too,'' said Brown. ``But the thing is, I've had bad games before and as much as I hate to admit it, the odds are that I'll have 'em again. Even the next game. ``I'd love to have pitched better, but it's a heck of a lot easier to take pitching bad when we win.'' ``I was surprised (by the boos),'' said Dodgers manager Davey Johnson, ``but he'll change that.'' Added Eric Karros rather sarcastically: ``I'm really happy to see Randy Johnson twice in my first 10 games, but I could be Arizona having to face Brown twice.'' MONEY MATCHUP? The much-anticipated opening day pitching matchup of the Dodgers' Kevin Brown and Arizona's Randy Johnson (above) turned out to be more about money than statistics. Player IPH IPH International Association of Paper Historians IPH Impressions Per Hour IPH International Paper Historians (paper watermark database) IPH Ipoh, Malaysia - Ipoh (Airport Code) R ER BB SO Brown 5-2/3 10 5 5 2 7 Johnson 7 5 2 2 6 9 CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1) Randy Johnson (2) Dodgers starter Kevin Brown was booed after giving up three home runs. Gus Ruelas/Daily News BOX: MONEY MATCHUP? (see text) |
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