Big Unit gets 300th win on first try Johnson hurls six strong innings to defeat Nationals 06/04/09 7:46 PM ET WASHINGTON -- Randy Johnson's outing Thursday spanned only six innings, but his achievement will last a lifetime. Johnson became the 24th pitcher in Major League history to win 300 games, limiting the Washington Nationals to an unearned run and two hits as the San Francisco Giants prevailed, 5-1, in the first game of a doubleheader. The achievement accented a career which has been truly singular for Johnson, whose very nickname -- "Big Unit" -- suggests all that is original and unique. The 6-foot-10 left-hander ranks second all-time in strikeouts, has won five Cy Young Awards and has defied baseball's actuarial tables by pitching for 22 years in the Majors. Johnson's latest triumph affirmed what baseball people have long known and what he has maintained about himself: He's all about winning. Following a 36-minute rain delay -- a watery reminder of Wednesday's downpour that delayed his start 24 hours -- Johnson (5-4) no-hit the Nationals for four innings while his teammates scored twice in the second inning to give him the requisite lead. Fred Lewis singled and Travis Ishikawa doubled with one out off rookie right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (2-3) before Juan Uribe's groundout delivered a run. Emmanuel Burriss singled to center field on an 0-2 pitch, scoring Ishikawa. The next 19 Giants hitters went down in order before they gave themselves and Johnson a cushion by adding three runs in the ninth. Aaron Rowand singled leading off against Joel Hanrahan and Edgar Renteria doubled before both scored on Randy Winn's double. Bengie Molina's single finished Hanrahan and moved Winn to third, from where he scored on pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval's sacrifice fly. Brian Wilson, who escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the eighth inning by retiring Adam Dunn on a disputed called third strike, pitched the ninth to notch his 13th save and preserve Johnson's triumph. Johnson's triumph marked the culmination of what in some ways has been an unlikely ascent. He didn't record his first Major League victory until he was 25, and he had won only 64 games upon turning 30 in 1993. But, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson's 236 victories since turning 30 are the fifth-most in Major League history. Johnson secured his milestone victory against a fitting opponent -- the Nationals, who launched his professional career by drafting him in the second round in 1985 when they were known as the Montreal Expos. Johnson, 45, became just the sixth left-hander to achieve the 300 milestone and the fifth pitcher in the last 50 years to do it on his first attempt, joining Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Gaylord Perry and Tom Seaver. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson also became the second-oldest pitcher to reach the 300 mark -- behind only Phil Niekro, who achieved the feat when he was 46 years and 188 days old on Oct. 6, 1985. Johnson is 45 years and 267 days old. Johnson's the seventh pitcher in Giants history to win 300 games while pitching for the franchise at some point in his career. He's the fourth to hit that plateau as a Giant, joining Tim Keefe, Mickey Welch and Christy Mathewson. Performing under light rain and before a sparse crowd that included close to 20 of his relatives and friends, Johnson lost his no-hitter when Elijah Dukes led off the Nationals' fifth with a single up the middle. Johnson yielded just one other hit, Nick Johnson's sixth-inning RBI double. Randy Johnson received ample support from his defense. Aaron Rowand robbed Nick Johnson, Washington's second batter of the game, by plunging to the turf to snare a sinking liner in left-center field. Second baseman Burriss made a glittering play in the fifth by making a diving stop of Ronnie Belliard's one-hopper up the middle and shoveling the ball from his glove to shortstop Renteria to start a double play. The Big Unit also helped himself in the sixth by chasing down pinch-hitter Anderson Hernandez's sharp comebacker off his glove and making an off-balance throw that first baseman Ishikawa deftly plucked for the out. Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs --

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