PHOENIX, April 1 (UPI) -- Randy Johnson, the most dominant pitcher in the major leagues, tossed a two-hitter Monday and Mark Grace homered as the Arizona Diamondbacks began defense of their World Series title with a 2-0 triumph over the San Diego Padres.
Johnson, who improved to 5-0 on Opening Day and 8-0 against the Padres, picked up where he left off last season, when he won his third straight Cy Young Award.
The hard-throwing lefthander allowed singles to D'Angelo Jimenez in the third inning and rookie Ramon Vazquez in the fifth. He walked one and struck out eight.
Johnson's gem was the majors' second Opening Day shutout in as many days. Before this season, no pitcher had thrown a shutout in his team's first game of the season since Dwight Gooden accomplished the feat in 1993.
Bartolo Colon shut out Anaheim for the Cleveland Indians Sunday night.
