RetroSimba

(Updated Jan. 6, 2015)

The Cardinals were a tough opponent for Randy Johnson.

The 6-foot-10 left-hander had a 7-7 record and 4.17 ERA versus the Cardinals in 16 regular-season career starts. He also was 0-2 against them in two postseason starts.

Johnson, who has 303 wins, five Cy Young awards and ranks second all-time in strikeouts (4,875), was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Jan. 6, 2015.

Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was a Johnson nemesis, batting .458 (11-for-24) against him in the regular season, with five home runs and 13 RBI. He also hit a home run versus Johnson in the postseason.

Here is a look at some memorable matchups between Johnson and the Cardinals:

Roughed up by Redbirds

Mike Matheny and Eli Marrero hit solo home runs on consecutive pitches off Johnson in the third inning and Edgar Renteria knocked him from the game with a three-run homer in the sixth, powering the Cardinals to a 9-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on April 8, 2001, at Phoenix.

Johnson yielded 11 hits and nine runs in 5.2 innings. He also walked two and hit two with pitches. Pujols, batting fourth for the first time in the big leagues, had a two-run double off Johnson and Fernando Vina contributed a two-run single. Rick Ankiel got the win, his last as a big-league starter. Boxscore

The nine earned runs were the most Johnson had yielded in a game since April 10, 1994, when the Blue Jays scored 10 in 2.1 innings against him.

“A game like this will stick with you a little while … I pitched real bad,” Johnson said to the Arizona Daily Star after the loss to the Cardinals.

Johnson, 38, recovered from the pounding and posted one of his best seasons. He was 21-6 with a National League-leading 2.49 ERA for the 2001 Diamondbacks. He struck out a career-best 372 and earned his third consecutive NL Cy Young Award.

Pujols delivers

In Game 2 of the NL Division Series at Phoenix on Oct. 10, 2001, Pujols hit his first postseason home run, a two-run shot off a high fastball from Johnson in the first inning, and sparked the Cardinals to a 4-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.

“I wish I could have that pitch back,” Johnson said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Pujols: “That was my pitch.”

Johnson also yielded a run in the third. Pitcher Woody Williams doubled, advanced to third on a bunt by Vina and scored on a sacrifice fly by Placido Polanco.

Johnson went eight innings, surrendering three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out nine. Boxscore

“He made two mistakes the whole game, to Pujols and Woody Williams,” said Diamondbacks catcher Damian Miller. “The only two bad pitches.”

Good game plan

Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen each hit a two-run home run off Johnson, leading the Cardinals to a 12-2 triumph against the Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the 2002 NL Division Series on Oct. 1 at Phoenix. Matheny contributed a RBI-single and a double against Johnson.

In six innings, Johnson allowed 10 hits, six runs and two walks. Boxscore

The Cardinals benefitted from a disciplined approach, laying off sliders and waiting for fastballs, according to Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch.

“We did a great job of sticking to our game plan,” said Edmonds. “We made him pitch and tried to hit strikes instead of being overaggressive and trying to match his power.”

Said Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly: “It appeared to me that he was rushing a little bit. When he does that, his velocity drops (and) his slider is not quite as sharp as it usually is. They were a very unforgiving team to him.”

Escape act

The Cardinals hit four home runs off Johnson, but he escaped with a no-decision in an 8-6 Diamondbacks victory on Sept. 1, 2008, at Phoenix.

Pujols hit a two-run home run and Yadier Molina, Joe Mather and Felipe Lopez each hit solo shots against Johnson. He gave up six hits and five runs in 3.2 innings. Eight of the 11 outs Johnson recorded were on strikeouts. Boxscore

Last win

In his last career appearance against the Cardinals, Johnson gave up two home runs to Pujols but earned the win _ the last of his big-league career _ in a 6-3 Giants victory on June 30, 2009, at St. Louis.

Johnson gave up four hits, four walks and three runs in 5.1 innings. Pujols hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth. Ryan Ludwick accounted for the other two hits off Johnson: a double and a triple. Boxscore

The first home run by Pujols carried an estimated 445 feet. “I didn’t make the pitch I wanted to make,” Johnson said to the San Jose Mercury News. “I think it will probably be landing sometime shortly.”

Johnson has the most career strikeouts of any left-hander. Only right-hander Nolan Ryan (5,714) has more. Johnson and Steve Carlton (4,136) are the only left-handers with more than 3,000 strikeouts.

Johnson ranks fifth all-time among left-handers in wins, trailing Warren Spahn (363), Carlton (329), Eddie Plank (326) and Tom Glavine (305).

Previously: Rick Ankiel and his last hurrah as a pitcher