Mondesi Soars In Dodgers Win

Baseball's first $100 million man wasn't worth it in his Los Angeles Dodgers' debut.

Still, Kevin Brown was smiling, thanks to Raul Mondesi.

Mondesi tied the game with a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth, then hit a two-out, two-run homer in the 11th to give him six RBIs as the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-6 in Monday's season opener.

Brown allowed five runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings, giving up a pair of solo homers to Bernard Gilkey and a three-run shot to Jay Bell that put Arizona ahead 5-2 in the sixth.

Brown, who threw 111 pitches, struck out seven and walked two. He was booed by many in the sellout crowd of 53,109 at Dodger Stadium as he left the field.

"I'd have booed myself," he said. "It's not the way I wanted to pitch. But if you pitch bad and your team wins, it's a lot easier to take."

Brown appeared headed to a loss until Mondesi's first homer, which came off Gregg Olson on a 3-0 pitch and followed an infield single by Jose Vizcaino and a one-out bloop single by Dave Hansen against Armando Reynoso.

Olson threw a called third strike past Gary Sheffield. Mondesi then connected into the left field seats. Known for his lack of patience at the plate, Mondesi admitted the 3-0 pitch was a bit high, but said he was a high fastball hitter.

"I expected the green light," he said. "That's the only chance we have to tie the game. If he doesn't throw anything close to the plate, I take a walk."

While Brown flopped in his Dodgers' debut, Davey Johnson came out a winner in his first game as the Los Angeles manager.

"That's the toughest one," Johnson said. "That's pretty good getting out of the chute."

For Johnson, giving Mondei the green light on 3-0 was a no-brainer.

"I never thought about anything other than letting him hit," Johnson said. "It wasn't a strike, but I want him being aggressive. He crushed it; he crushed the next one, too."

Randy Johnson, making his Diamondbacks' debut and his seventh opening-day start, left for a pinch hitter in the eighth after allowing just five hits and two runs in seven innings. He walked six and struck out nine.

Mondesi hit a two-out RBI single off Johnson in the first, and former Diamondback Devon White homered off Johnson in the fourth.

"For the most part, I felt like I pitched pretty well," Johnson said. "I went seven strong innings. The only pitch I wish I could have back was one to Devon White. It was a breaking ball and I didn't think he hit it that well. But obviously, he did."

With $157.4 million in starting pitchers on the mound based on 34 starts a season, Brown earned about $441,000 for the game and Johnson $385,000 the opener had been sold out for weeks.

It had been much anticipated since Johnson signed a $52.4 million, four-year contract with the Diamondbacks on Nov. 30, and Brown signed a $105 million, seven-year deal with the Dodgers 12 days later.

They opposed each other last fall in the opener of the NL division series, with Brown striking out 16 as the Padres beat Houston 2-1.

He wasn't the same pitcher against the Diamondbacks.

Last year, while helping San Diego win the NL pennant, Brown allowed just eight homers in 257 innings and had the best home-run ratio in the league.

Gilkey, who also singled in the second, is 8-for-15 against Brown with four homers.

Arizona got its sixth run off Pedro Borbon on an RBI single by Matt Williams after Brown left in the sixth. Eric Karros hit an RBI single in the eighth off Darren Holmes to draw the Dodgers within three runs.

Jeff Shaw, who retired all six batters he faced, earned the victory.

"This is one of 162," Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter said. "They've been down this way before. This game can break your heart, but the great thing about it is tomorrow's another day."

Notes: In honor of his 50th season as play-by-play voice of the Dodgers, Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. ... The Dodgers have drawn over 50,000 in seven straight home openers and in 13 of their 38 openers at Dodger Stadium since 1962. ... The Dodgers have a 21-17 record in Dodger Stadium home openers, including last year's 9-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. ... Brown and Johnson faced each other for the fourth time in a regular-season game. They last met on Aug. 21, 1995, at Seattle, with neither player involved in the decision. Brown was pitching for Baltimore at that time. He pitched for Texas in their first two meetings while Johnson pitched for Seattle. ... Both teams had exceptional springs the odgers went 21-9 while the Diamondbacks were 22-10. ... Brown entered the game having never allowed a home run in 20 previous innings at Dodger Stadium. ... Playing in his first game for the Dodgers, Todd Hundley struck out four times before singling in the 10th.

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