Bronx, N.Y., July 5, 2005 — It all began with home plate ump Tim Timmins’s “Ball Two” call on a close 1-2 slider at the knees that froze O’s backstop Sal Fasano. Randy Johnson had retired the first eight Orioles on 25 tosses (20 strikes) by this moment in the top of the third Tuesday afternoon, and the crowd groaned when Timmins failed to deliver Randy’s fourth strike out on the near (non)call. And that’s when it began. Determined to put Fasano and the third inning behind him, Johnson pounded the backup catcher forced into play by injuries with four straight strikes on his hands, the first three popped foul and the fourth to Robinson Cano at second. It was the first four strikes of 31 to be tossed in a row.

Down 1-0 at the time to a leadoff Jason Giambi home run in the second, Rodrgo Lopez responded with the same kind of focus. He threw two hard strikes to Jeter leading off the third, resulting in a hard single to right. A next-pitch, hard three-hopper by Cano to first basman Chris Gomez (a shortsop filling in to get a righty bat in Lee Mazzilli’s lineup) was bobbled, with the Yankee captain scooting to third. Disgusted, Lopez knew he had done nothing wrong and he pounded three strikes to Gary Sheffield, two fouls and a routine bouncer to Melvin Mora at third. Jeter went on contact and Mora blew off the double play, throwing home, a Baltimore tragedy once Jeter was hit in the ensuing rundown. A second run, two errors, two men on.

Still confident he was throwing well, Lopez coaxed a first-pitch A-Rod hopper down the line at third, which at the last minute caromed high off the bag, and Mora did well to nab Shef with the force play for what should have been the third out. Lopez was throwing strikes, but the next three instantly exploded in his face: a Hideki Matsui single, Jason Giambi double and Ruben Sierra single for four quick runs, and a 6-0 Yankee lead. But Rodrigo couldn’t stop now, and he regained his footing by striking out Tony Womack and John Flaherty on seven more strikes. Five runs (but none earned) on four hits and two strike outs. All 17 pitches were strikes.

Taking up the mantle Lopez had returned to him, Johnson sandwiched an 0-1 Gomez comebacker in between three-pitch swinging strikes outs of Roberts and Mora in the top of the fourth, and Rodrigo was back on the mound. Twenty-nine straight strikes had been thrown. Jeter and Cano first-pitch singles brought the string to 31, and Lopez finally threw a first-pitch ball to Sheffield. Big mistake, and Shef lashed the 1-0 pitch over the wall in left. A-Rod actually took two off the plate before following with a long bomb to right, and Lopez had thrown his 45th (and last) strike.

All of which does nothing to diminish the beauty that the Big Unit was weaving in a Tuesday afternoon start in Yankee Stadium. The Stadium festivities had experienced a false start, as Randy Johnson made the case to home plate ump Tim Timmons that he deserved two more warm-ups once Bob Sheppard had already annnounced Brian Roberts, leading off. Maybe Randy just knew that 1:06 was a bit early and that no one would have to move up the time of this game; from the feeling in his left arm there would be no four-hour baseball in the Bronx this day. Timmins held Roberts at bay and Randy pounded John Flaherty’s with two fastballs before throwing the 1:08 first-pitch strike to the Orioles second baseman.

Johnson was overwhelming, and he was pitching, not just pounding fastballs. Three times in the first four frames, the time elasped from The Unit’s first toss in an inning until Rodrigo Lopez began the bottom half was just six minutes (all but the third with the pesky Fasano at bat with all the fouls). Johnson retired the first 12 Orioles, and his pitch counts for the first, second, and fourth were nine, nine, and eight: 24 strikes and two balls. Three of seven hits he allowed through seven were infield toppers, and he left a 12-2 game once Gomez and Matsui exchanged sixth inning two-run jacks. He struck out eight and walked none.

His pitch counts were precise: He threw six of nine first-pitch strikes three times through the order: the 2/1 ratio just what you’d want (perhaps Lopez’s unreal 20 of 22 was his undoing, along with the bad fielding). Johnson’s 69/23 strikes/balls ratio was a high (and exact) three out of four. During the scintillating first four perfect innings Randy got five swinging strike outs on 10 swings and misses. Baltimore swung and missed once in the first, twice in the second, three times in the third, and filled out the pattern with four in the fourth.

The explosive Yankee offense was gratifying, as it had been the day before. Jeter singled his first three times up in this game; his 2005 leadoff service has been superb. His play rivals that of Boston’s Johnny Damon and Baltimore’s Brian Roberts in that respect, and Roberts got the Golden Sombrero of four strike outs in four tries this day. Sheffield, irked by being hit with a pitch Monday, the impending two-game suspension, or the Yankee trade rumors (or all three), has been attacking the ball, with two three-run bombs in as many days. Matsui, who has reached safely in 32 straight games, had three hits, three rbi’s, and another home run. But I think Yankee players and fans, one and all, would grant that the spark to the latest offensive burst has been the power drives Jason Giambi has smashed lately. He sparked the big rally with a homer yesterday, and got the Yanks off and running with a longer tater today; he doubled twice as well, and made a fine diving stop on Gomez for the game’s second out.

Jason homered twice yesterday, the first time he has gone yard twice in a game since he did the same to start a big Yankee comeback in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS win over Boston. Still playing for the Red Sox, Babe Ruth homered twice in a game for the first time (of 72) on July 4, 1919. And the Red Sox star (sort of) in the historical July 5 highlight most like the game the Yanks won over Baltimore 12-3. The 1906 Highlanders overcame Boston 8-3 99 years ago this day. One wonders if the Boston pitcher could empathize with what Rodrigo Lopez went through today (or vice versa). The Sox made nine errors back then, six more than the three that ruined Lopez’s game Tuesday. I wonder if he’ll throw as many strikes next time.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!