Randy Johnson became the 24th member of the 300-win club Thursday, tossing six innings of one-run ball against Washington. It wasn’t exactly vintage Big Unit, as Johnson managed only two strikeouts and threw just 78 pitches one day after his start was delayed by rain, but with just two hits and two walks he was plenty effective and the lone run was unearned.
At 45 he’s the second-oldest pitcher to reach 300 wins, behind only 46-year-old Phil Niekro, and Johnson joins Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Eddie Plank, Lefty Grove, and Tom Glavine as the 300-win southpaws. And while it might not have registered with most people thanks to the name change from Expos to Nationals, Johnson won No. 300 against the franchise that he debuted with back in 1988.
While media members with zero sense of history misguidedly proclaim Johnson the last 300-game winner, here are some other notes from around baseball ...
* Dontrelle Willis fared reasonably well in his first four starts and cruised through the first two innings Thursday, but unraveled in the third inning by hitting a batter and walking four, including the last two with the bases loaded. His five runs tied for the most allowed without giving up a hit during the last 55 years, joining Mark Fidrych, Sandy Koufax, Mitch Williams, Pat Combs, and Mark Hutton.
* Andrew McCutchen had a nice MLB debut Thursday, going 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs while leading off and taking over for Nate McLouth in center field. Gordon Beckham’s debut didn’t go quite so well, as he was hitless in three at-bats. Beckham batted eighth, played third base, and as Ozzie Guillen put it “had a bad day just like everyone else” as the White Sox were shut out.
* Chien-Ming Wang’s return to the rotation was a mixed bag Thursday afternoon, as five runs in 4.2 innings isn’t as bad as it looks against a strong Texas lineup in a good ballpark for hitting. It certainly wasn’t an impressive start, but he showed good velocity while inducing eight ground-ball outs and struck out five versus just one walk. Unfortunately for Wang, he has no time to settle in with Boston next.
* Cole Hamels’ year began with injuries and ineffectiveness, but that now seems like a distant memory following his complete-game shutout Thursday against the Dodgers. He needed just 97 pitches to record 27 outs, striking out five, walking zero, and allowing five hits. And since giving up a dozen runs through two starts, Hamels is 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA and 44/8 K/BB ratio in 44.1 innings.
* Miguel Cabrera left Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury, but not before the Tigers oddly allowed him limp home from second base on a Brandon Inge double after being looked at by trainers prior to the at-bat. Cabrera somehow avoided an immediate removal despite being in obvious pain and then could barely walk/jog the 180 feet to the plate, at which point he was pulled in favor of Jeff Larish.
AL Quick Hits: Adam Lind went 5-for-5 with three doubles Thursday and now has hits in a team-record eight straight at-bats ... David Ortiz said Thursday that he’s considering getting his eyes “checked out” ... James Shields threw eight innings of two-run ball Thursday and J.P. Howell closed out his win ... Scott Baker struck out 10 while dropping his ERA below 6.00 for the first time Thursday ... Fausto Carmona kept struggling Thursday, coughing up seven runs as his ERA climbed to 7.42 ... Mike Aviles’ rehab has been shut down for two weeks as he attempts to come back from a forearm strain ... John Lackey allowed two runs over seven innings Thursday, but the bullpen cost him a win ... Jason Kubel smacked a pair of three-run homers Thursday ... Brett Anderson tossed seven scoreless innings Thursday after posting a 6.38 ERA in May ... Travis Hafner (shoulder) is due off the disabled list Friday, but is unlikely to get everyday playing time initially.
NL Quick Hits: Garrett Atkins hadn’t homered since April 27, but went deep twice Thursday ... Chris Carpenter needed just 95 pitches for a complete-game victory Thursday, allowing one run on three hits ... Anibal Sanchez is reportedly headed right back to the disabled list after aggravating his shoulder injury ... Brett Myers underwent hip surgery Thursday and will likely miss the rest of the year ... Kyle Lohse looks destined for another DL stint after tweaking his forearm injury ... J.J. Putz will have his sore elbow examined Friday and might need surgery ... Wandy Rodriguez was knocked around again Thursday and has now allowed 18 runs in his last three starts ... Mike Pelfrey’s streak of five straight Quality Starts ended with nine runs Thursday ... Josh Johnson tossed 7.2 innings of two-run ball and hit a three-run homer Thursday ... Shane Victorino missed Thursday with a sore hip ... Andy LaRoche left Thursday’s game after being plunked on the knee.
