Johnson, Zito impress their teammates

Andrew Baggarly
MercuryNews

In an early spring-training intrasquad game, you expect the pitchers to be ahead of the hitters. Many believe that pattern will hold for the Giants all season.

But any lineup probably would have struggled at Scottsdale Stadium on Tuesday. Instead of Class A pitchers, the 41/2 -inning scrimmage featured two scoreless innings apiece from Cy Young Award winners Randy Johnson and Barry Zito.

On the eve of the Giants' first Cactus League game, Johnson allowed one hit — a double by phenom Buster Posey — and Zito attacked the strike zone while yielding two singles.

Johnson made the biggest impression by just being himself. He paused during warm-ups to shoo a group of photographers working in front of the backstop. He mixed his splitter, slider, two-seam fastball and four-seamer as if the results mattered. And he gave the umpire a glare when he didn't get the call on a 3-2 pitch to Ryan Rohlinger.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy joked that the Triple-A umpires did a double-take when they saw who was pitching. Leadoff hitter Dave Roberts had a laugh with the ump as he dug in to face the Big Unit.

"You better keep this pitcher on the plate," Roberts told him. "He hasn't earned anything yet."

Roberts hit the first of three quick groundouts in the first inning. Johnson needed just eight pitches to get his side back into the dugout.

"He can still crank it up, but he's more of a pitcher now," Bochy said. "He's not trying to miss bats."

Johnson couldn't sneak anything past Posey, the fresh-faced catcher with the $6.2 million draft bonus. The Big Unit tried to elevate an 0-2 fastball and Posey was ready, hitting it to the wall in left-center field.

"It's just an unbelievable experience to hit against him," said Posey, who was 18 months old when Johnson made his major league debut in 1988. "He's effortless but the ball gets on you. I'd hate to be left-handed facing that."

In other words, he would hate to be Roberts.

"Same old Randy Johnson," Roberts said. "You still see it: A guy gets on base and he'll dial up the intensity."

n"‚Posey caught Zito and said the left-hander had a good change-up and curveball, although a few breaking pitches stayed up in the zone. Travis Ishikawa stayed back on one, lining it for one of his two hits. Non-roster outfielder Andres Torres hit a home run off Henry Sosa for the game's only run.

n"‚Emmanuel Burriss was picked off first base and made two errors, but he will get a chance to redeem himself in today's exhibition opener against the Cleveland Indians at Goodyear.

In the first of many tea leaves into the second base battle, Burriss will start and Kevin Frandsen will come off the bench.

The lineup: Randy Winn (RF), Edgar Renteria (SS), Pablo Sandoval (3B), Bengie Molina (C), Ishikawa (1B), Aaron Rowand (CF), Nate Schierholtz (LF), Burriss and Juan Uribe (DH). Tim Lincecum is expected to pitch two or three innings.

n"‚Fred Lewis will not make the trip, but Bochy insisted the left fielder did not have a setback with his surgically repaired right foot. Bochy said the Giants were simply being extra cautious with Lewis, who tested his foot by running the bases for the first time Monday and Tuesday.

Lewis said he gave the foot a strenuous workout, simulating doubles and triples out of the batter's box. He anticipates being just as fleet on the bases this season, which is among the reasons Bochy wants to hit him in front of cleanup hitter Molina rather than in the No. 5 spot.