Jun 04 2009
Johnson Wins 300th Game
Randy Johnson won his 300th game Thursday as San Francisco defeated Washington, 5-1. Johnson pitched six innings and left the game with a 2-1 lead. Washington loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning but a full-count pitch from Brian Wilson to Adam Dunn that seemed low was called a strike to end the frame and preserve San Francisco’s lead. The Giants scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break open the contest. Johnson is the 24th pitcher to win at least 300 games.
Los Angeles crushed Orlando, 100-75, in the opening game of the NBA Finals. After nearing a week off, Kobe Bryant seemed refreshed. He scored 40 points to lead the Lakers, who after a nip-and-tuck first period took the lead for good in the second quarter. Game 2 is Sunday in Los Angeles.
Pittsburgh evened the Stanley Cup final with a 4-2 win over Detroit. Detroit had not lost two consecutive postseason games this year. The Red Wings will try to regroup at home in Game 5 Saturday.
The French Open women’s final Saturday will be an all-Russian affair. Dinara Safina reached the final at Roland Garros for the second straight year after dispatching Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3, 6-3. Svetlana Kuznetsova outlasted Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Safina is 0-2 lifetime in Grand Slam singles finals. She lost last year’s Roland Garros final to Ana Ivanovic and January’s Australian Open to Serena Williams. Kuznetsova is 1-2 in Grand Slam singles finals. She beat Elena Dementieva at the 2004 U.S. Open. She lost at the 2006 French Open and the 2007 U.S. Open, both times to Justine Henin.
The PGA Tour left the Southeast and Southwest for the first time in 2009 with the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio. Luke Donald fired a sizzling 64 to lead four golfers by three strokes. Tiger Woods opened with a three-under par 69. Jee Young Lee and Se Ri Pak each shot 66 Thursday to share the first-round at the LPGA event in Springfield, Illinois. Four players–Thomas Bjorn, Nick Doughtery, David Frost and Alan McLean–are tied for the lead after one day at the Wales Open.
