'Big U' Flirts With No-Hitter

Randy Johnson was much more upset about losing his concentration than he was losing a no-hitter.

Johnson,

Johnson (9-1) suddenly lost his control after six dominating innings, surrendering four hits, hitting a batter and walking another over the next 1 1-3 innings.

He scowled after being lifted by manager Larry Dierker in the eighth, and only brushed hands with teammates as he hurriedly left the dugout. He was heard cursing as he stormed into the clubhouse, upending a few chairs along the way.

"I kind of lost my focus, for whatever reason, and it didn't come back," Johnson said. "I got frustrated out there. I was in a pretty good groove, but for some reason I lost it and I went from being in a relatively good mood to being in a not very good mood right now."

And, with the NL playoffs coming up in only 10 days, he added, "I can't lose it that quickly."

"He's really intense on the day he pitches," Dierker said. "You don't want to be around him until after it's over. Between starts, he's a great guy on the club. He has his own way of being ready to pitch. He has a sort of confrontational, challenging demeanor."

Johnson displayed a lot of emotion for a game meaningful only because the NL Central champion Astros are pursuing Atlanta for the league's best record and home field throughout the playoffs.

Craig Biggio went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs for the Astros (98-57), who must win only twice in their final seven for the first 100-win season itheir 37-season history.

Despite his unexpected lapse in concentration, Johnson won his sixth in a row and is 9-1 with a 1.28 ERA since the July 31 trade by Seattle that may have altered the balance of power in the National League.

Johnson is 6-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his last six starts and is 17-11 overall with Seattle and Houston after going only 9-10 with the Mariners.

"The Braves are very good, but I wouldn't be surprised if Houston's not the favorite in the playoffs," Pirates manager Gene Lamont said. "He can shut you down. Remember in the (1995 AL) playoffs, he almost single-handedly beat the Yankees."

Johnson struck out 12 -- he has 40 strikeouts in his three starts against Pittsburgh -- but had only one strikeout after Kevin Polcovich and Jason Kendall singled to start the seventh.

Johnson lost his shutout on Jose Guillen's run-scoring grounder, and gave up another run in the eighth after hitting a batter, walking another and yielding two hits, including Adrian Brown's RBI double.

"You could tell he had a lot of confidence and wasn't going to mess around. He came right after us," Polcovich said. "He looks outstanding. He's the most dominating pitcher I've seen."

Johnson won't have any trouble remembering Pittsburgh when he looks back on this season. He was traded by Seattle on July 31 while the Astros were in Pittsburgh, then defeated the Pirates 6-2 two days later in his first start for Houston. He also struck out 16 in beating the Pirates 2-0 on a two-hitter Aug. 28 in the Astrodome.

For six innings Friday, Johnson -- one of the weakest-hitting pitchers in baseball -- even outhit the Pirates, who are 4-17 since that 2-0 loss to Johnson.

Johnson grounded into a force play for his first career RBI in a three-run second inning against Elmer Dessens (2-5), then doubled for his first career extra-base hit and scored in the fifth.

Jay Powell got the final five outs for his seventh save.

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