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PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Wednesday, September 30, 1998 Big Unit drops another playoff game By MICHAEL A. LUTZ Associated Press HOUSTON - Call him the Average Unit. Cut the big buildup, Randy Johnson says. It only seems to make the other guy pitch better. The Houston Astros went into Tuesday's Game 1 of the NL playoffs against Kevin Brown and the San Diego Padres needing a dominating performance from Johnson, but they only got a good one. The Padres squeezed out a 2-1 victory, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, extending Johnson's playoff losing streak to four decisions. "I pitched a good ballgame but it wasn't enough to win," Johnson said. "Kevin Brown pitched a much better ballgame and shut a good offensive team down in dominating fashion. Johnson was 10-1 in the regular season with a 1.28 ERA since coming to the Astros on July 31 from Seattle, including four shutouts in the Astrodome. Brown pitched eight innings, struck out a career-high 16 and didn't allow a run. Houston got its run off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth. In eight innings, Johnson allowed nine hits, two earned runs and struck out eight - not a normal Big Unit performance. Johnson, who lost to Baltimore's Mike Mussina in the playoffs last season while still with the Mariners, said opposing pitchers always seem to benefit from the "big buildup when I pitch." "It seems to overshadow the opposing pitcher. If I was Kevin Brown or Mike Mussina last year, that would be incentive for me to go prove there was more than one pitcher out there," he said. "Last year, I pitched a quality game in Baltimore," Johnson said. "I pitched a complete game, struck out 13 and lost 3-1. I've won a lot of games giving up three runs but Mike pitched better. "This year there was a big buildup for me and Kevin. If you are on the other side of the track, it is incentive to go pitch a quality ball game and he did." Brown never allowed the Astros' offense to get going. "Randy did his job, we just didn't do our jobs offensively," Astros second baseman Craig Biggio said. "It wasn't as good as I've seen Randy Johnson pitch, but he was still dominating," said Padres first baseman Jim Leyritz. "Anybody else gives up two runs and it's a great game. Johnson does it and people wonder what's wrong. He was nasty. "It wasn't like we got a lot of big hits off him. We only got two runs." Johnson beat the Padres June 24 in San Diego with a complete game, 12 strikeouts on six hits - but he couldn't repeat the effort. "He really smoked us earlier this year, and he was tough today," Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn said. "But we were able to put together a few hits and Kevin was awesome. This was a huge win for us. "We weren't supposed to beat Randy Johnson, not here. We came here hoping to win one. Now we are thinking we have a shot to take two." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1998, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

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