Going For Two
Randy Johnson needs just one strikeout to move into sole possession of second place on the all-time list.
Mike Cameron and the Milwaukee Brewers should be easy prey for the Arizona Diamondbacks veteran.
Johnson, who has pitched well for the NL West-leading Diamondbacks since returning to the rotation, looks to take advantage of a strikeout-prone Brewers club when the teams play the middle game of their series Tuesday night.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Arizona -109 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 58% of bets for this game have been placed on Milwaukee –101 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Johnson (4-1, 3.83 ERA) is tied with Roger Clemens for second place on the career strikeout list. He fanned nine batters against San Francisco on Thursday night to give him 4,672 in 20 seasons.
"It’s nice to be No. 2 on that list," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin told the team’s official Web site. "And I’m reasonably certain he will be."
Nolan Ryan holds the major league record for career strikeouts with 5,714.
Johnson is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his last three starts, striking out 24 while walking three in 20 innings. The 44-year-old left-hander has made nine starts since returning to Arizona’s rotation after his second back surgery in as many seasons.
Johnson is 18-7 with a 3.44 ERA in 30 starts against the Brewers (30-28).
Facing Milwaukee should give Johnson a good chance to pass Clemens fairly quickly. The Brewers have fanned 420 times, and Cameron has been one of the team’s biggest culprits. He has struck out 42 times in just 124 at-bats, including 14 in his last six games.
Cameron, who perennially ranks among the majors’ leaders in strikeouts, has been particularly vulnerable versus Johnson. He is batting .074 (2-for-27) with 16 strikeouts against the lefty.
Milwaukee, though, fanned just four times en route to beating Arizona (32-26) 4-3 on Monday night in the series opener, giving the Brewers their season high-tying fourth straight win.
Prince Fielder homered for the third time in his last four games to lead Milwaukee to its seventh win in its last eight contests.
"I’m just trying to put the swing I like to take on it, and not really try to manipulate it," said Fielder, who became the youngest player to ever hit 50 homers last season. "Sometimes you try to create a base hit or try to do something different instead of putting a good swing on it."
Fielder has never faced Johnson.
Arizona, meanwhile, has been struggling at the plate. The Diamondbacks have lost nine of their last 11, scoring three runs or less eight times during that span.
The Diamondbacks will try to get back on track as they face Brewers starter Seth McClung (2-2, 4.80). He struggled in his second start of the season, giving up six runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings as Milwaukee lost 8-1 to Atlanta on Thursday.
The right-hander entered that game with a 3.55 ERA in one start and 11 relief appearances.
In his only appearance against Arizona, McClung gave up two runs and three hits while retiring two batters in relief as the Brewers won 7-4 on Aug. 21.
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