Johnson Blanks Yanks Big Unit’s Three-Hit Shutout Gives Yanks 8th Loss In Row, 7-0

Randy Johnson was glad to see the New York Yankees hitting the ball Saturday night.

“I’d rather take groundouts than strikeouts. They’re easier on my arm,” Johnson said, after pitching a three-hitter and leading the Seattle Mariners to a 7-0 victory, the Yankees’ eighth straight loss.

“If I’d had 10 or 11 strikeouts early, I might not have been in a position to finish what I started,” he said.

Johnson (13-2) tied Los Angeles’ Hideo Nomo for most shutouts in the majors this year with three.

Johnson struck out seven, extending his major league-leading total to 229. He walked four.

Despite a comfortable seven-run lead after eight innings, Johnson completed the game.

“I didn’t have that many pitches, so sure, why not?,” Johnson said.

Johnson threw 131 pitches.

“Randy had a shutout going, so we let him finish the game,” Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. “Otherwise, he would have been out after eight innings.”

Johnson earned his 15th career shutout by pitching his third three-hitter of the year.

“When Randy’s throwing strikes and staying ahead of the hitters, he can be dominating,” Piniella said.

Johnson had only four strikeouts after six innings.

Jay Buhner and Mike Blowers, both former Yankees, homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning to give Seattle a 2-0 lead.

“When Randy gets an early lead and smells a ‘W,’ he gets even tougher,” Blowers said.

A crowd of 41,182, second-largest this season at the Kingdome, saw Seattle remain two games behind Texas for the wild-card lead.

The Yankees’ losing streak is their longest since an eight-game skid in September 1991. New York has lost 14 of its last 18.

The Yankees are 2-10 on their 13-game road trip. They have lost 10 games on a road trip for the first time since June-July 1967.

“You are lucky if you can catch Johnson on an off day,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “Tonight wasn’t one of those.”

Buhner led off the fourth with his 25th homer of the year and Blowers followed with his 19th off Sterling Hitchcock (6-9).

Later in the inning, Tino Martinez scored from third base with two outs on Vince Coleman’s infield single.

The Mariners made 5-0 in the sixth on a two-out, two-run single by Luis Sojo. Felix Fermin added a two-out, two-run single in the seventh.

New York’s only scoring chances resulted from Johnson’s wildness.

In the fourth, the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs on a single and two walks, but Johnson struck out Russ Davis. In the sixth, Johnson walked the first two hitters, but stranded them by retiring the next three batters.

“I don’t like getting in jams, but if I get out of them I feel I’ve accomplished something,” Johnson said.

Randy Velarde singled twice for New York and Bernie Williams also singled.

Notes

The Yankees are 2-16 on the West Coast this year, their worst combined season record ever in games at Seattle, Oakland and California… . The Yankees’ longest losing streak ever is 13 back in 1913… . New York has now lost five straight series … . The Mariners are 21-3 in games started by Johnson, 36-52 in all other games… . Johnson is 6-7 lifetime against New York. He had lost three straight decisions to the Yankees.