Big 'U', D'Backs Fall To Rockies

May 20, 1999 / 10:05 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Hitting Randy Johnson's 97 mph fastball and sharp-breaking slider is difficult for those with the keenest eyesight. Kurt Abbott had to battle the Big Unit through blurry contact lenses.

Abbott, who has struggled adjusting to new contacts all season, went 3-for-4 with his first homer and the Colorado Rockies took advantage of shaky Arizona defense to beat the Diamondbacks 8-4 Thursday night.

Related Links

Game Summary

Baseball features:

MLB Standings

Complete MLB Schedules

"It's aggravating as hell," Abbott said. "The pitcher's in the middle of his windup and things blur up. It puts your back up against the wall. ... Some guys do eyedrops between innings. I do eyedrops between pitches."

Abbott, 3-for-28 entering the game, had two singles against Johnson (4-2) and Dante Bichette hit his second career homer off the hard-throwing left-hander as the Rockies scored three unearned runs on three errors.

Bichette's other homer came April 10, 1990, when Johnson was pitching for Seattle and Bichette played for the California Angels.

"That was a long time ago," Bichette said. "It was a fastball to right field. I think it was a 3-1 count. I didn't know who he was, and he didn't know who I was."

Johnson, who lost for the first time since April 15, is getting familiar with Rockies starter Darryl Kile (3-3). Johnson flung his bat toward Kile while striking out last Saturday, and Kile brushed him back in the first inning Wednesday.

Johnson insisted the bat slipped out of his hand, and issued a warning to Kile about pitching inside.

"If his feelings are hurt and he wants to head hunt, then I throw about 10 mph harder than him," Johnson said. "If we match up again and he does it again, then I can assure that he will go on the DL."

Kile had no comment after hearing Johnson's view. He struggled with his control but managed to win for the first time in four starts. He gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings, walking six and striking out five.

"When you face a guy like Randy Johnson, you must pitch good against him, or you've got no chance," Rockies manager Jim Leyland said. "Darryl really picked us u tonight."

Johnson, coming off a complete-game victory over Colorado last Saturday, left after allowing seven runs four earned and nine hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out seven in his Coors Field debut.

"It is a different ballpark than any other ballpark I've pitched in," Johnson said. "I suppose if you pitched here long enough or enough times you might see the affect of the thin air.

"The only ball that was hit hard was the one Bichette hit for the home run. That was a home run anywhere."

Abbott, who has gone through five sets of contacts since spring training, gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead with an RBI double in the fourth. Colorado added two unearned runs in the inning when Arizona committed two errors including one by Johnson when he couldn't pick up a wet ball.

Bichette hit a solo homer, his seventh, with two outs in the fifth before the Arizona defense faltered again. Vinny Castilla followed with a walk and scored when Abbott singled and Diamondbacks second baseman Jay Bell threw wildly trying to catch Abbott in a rundown between first and second.

The Diamondbacks pulled to 6-3 on Steve Finley's two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the sixth, but the Rockies added another run on an RBI single by Angel Echevarria.

Abbott homered off John Frascatore in the seventh.

"I told a couple guys, `Now I know how it feels when you guys get three hits in a game,"' Abbott said. "I know I'm not as bad as I was doing. I was hoping that one day this season I was going to have a good game."

Larry Walker, who has a 20-game hitting streak and leads the majors with a .431 average, did not start because Rockies manager Jim Leyland wanted to stack the lineup with right-handed hitters.

Notes: Finley is 16-for-35 (.457) with three homers against Kile. ... Perez missed his second straight game with a strained left wrist. Wednesday's absence ended his string of 267 straight games. Castilla has played in 284 straight second in the majors to Baltimore's Albert Belle. ... The Diamondbacks have outscored the opponent 78-54 in seventh, eighth and ninth. ... Before the game, the Rockies recalled RHP David Lee from Double-A Carolina and optioned LHP Roberto Ramirez to Triple-A Colorado Springs.