Baseball News: Randy Johnson pitched a "perfect game" for the first time in his career on Tuesday, retiring all 27 batters he faced to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0.

Johnson (4-4) struck out 13 batters for his second "no-hitter" and the first perfect game in the National League since Dennis Martinez of the Montreal Expos achieved the feat in July 1991.

Five-times Cy Young Award-winner Johnson threw 117 pitches, a remarkable 87 for strikes.

He struck out Eddie Perez on a 98-m.p.h. fastball to end the game and earn a standing ovation from the 23,381 fans at Turner Field.

It was the 17th perfect game in the history of major league baseball.

Johnson also became the oldest player to toss a perfect game. Cy Young held the previous record after achieving the feat in 1904 at the age of 37.

"Not bad for being 40 years old," Johnson told reporters. "Everything was locked in. A game like this was pretty special. It doesn't come along very often."

It was the first perfect game in the major leagues since David Cone accomplished the feat for the New York Yankees against the Expos in July 1999.

Since the modern era of baseball began in 1900, there have been 15 perfect games, including Johnson's. Johnson was also given a standing ovation after eight innings, the crowd chanting his name as he drew closer to his perfect game.

The Braves hit several hard balls off Johnson but nothing came close to being a hit. He only went to three balls on the count once.

"This was one of those nights when a superior athlete was on top of his game," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said.

Johnson's other no-hitter came in June 1990 against the Detroit Tigers. The 14-year span between no-hitters is by far the longest in baseball history.

Alex Cintron doubled in a run in the second inning and scored another run on an RBI single by Chad Tracy in the seventh.

Mike Hampton (0-5) allowed eight hits and two runs in a complete game but took the loss.

The closest the Braves came to a hit was in the sixth inning when Hampton was thrown out at first base on a slow roller to Cintron. The Arizona Republic described 6ft 10 inJohnson in a headline as "Pitcher Perfect".

Brenly said nothing compared to his latest achievement.

"Everything he's done up to this point pales in comparison," Brenly told the Republic.

"His focus, his concentration, his stuff was as good as it possibly can be, and that was the end result."

As the game wore on and word spread that Johnson was flirting with history, members of the major league pitching fraternity turned their attention to events in Atlanta.

Curt Schilling, Johnson's former team-mate who moved to the Boston Red Sox, sat in front of the clubhouse television and watched his friend pitch.

"You may watch a thousand games," Schilling told the Boston Globe, "and you might never see another (perfect game) in your lifetime. There are too many things that have to happen.

"I was having a little trouble there breathing at the end."

A starter - a pitcher who starts the game - going all the way to the end pitches a complete game. If he does this without giving up a hit, he achieves a no-hitter, which is very rare. A perfect game is even rarer - no hits or walks, just 27 straight outs.