By Paul Newberry

Associated Press

ATLANTA — Randy Johnson had pretty much done it all — Cy Young Awards, a no-hitter, strikeout records, a World Series championship.

Only one thing was missing in his brilliant career, that rarest of pitching feats.

At the age of 40, the Big Unit took care of that too.

Johnson became the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Atlanta Braves 2-0 Tuesday night.

“A game like this was pretty special,” said Johnson, a five-time Cy Young winner. “It doesn’t come along very often.”

It was the 17th perfect game in major league history, the 15th since the modern era began in 1900 and the first since the Yankees’ David Cone against Montreal on July 18, 1999.

“Everything he’s done up to this point pales in comparison,” Arizona manager Bob Brenly said.

Johnson struck out 13 and went to three balls on just one hitter--Johnny Estrada in the second inning. Estrada fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches before going down swinging.

Appropriately, Johnson struck out the final batter, pinch-hitter Eddie Perez, with a 98-m.p.h. fastball.

Johnson pumped his fist and raised his glove in the air, but his teammates seemed even more excited. He started to put out his right hand when Robby Hammock arrived at the mound, but the young catcher gave him a bear hug instead.

Within seconds, Johnson was mobbed by his teammates.

“He could smell it at the end,” Estrada said.

Late in the game, Johnson sat stoically in the dugout with his eyes closed, appearing to be almost asleep.

“It didn’t faze me,” the left-hander said. “Winning the game was the biggest, most important thing.”

Cy Young, then 37, had been the oldest to throw a perfect game, doing it in 1904.

Johnson sure didn’t act his age, getting stronger as the game went along on a warm night in Atlanta.

“Not bad for being 40 years old,” he said. “Everything was locked in.”

While it was the first perfect game of Johnson’s career, it was his second no-hitter. He no-hit Detroit for Seattle on June 2, 1990, walking six.

“That was far from perfect,” he recalled. “I was a very young pitcher who didn’t have any idea where the ball was going. I was far from being a polished pitcher. Fourteen years later, I’ve come a long way as far as knowing what I want to do.”

It was the longest span between a pair of no-hitters by a pitcher in baseball history.

He became only the fifth pitcher to throw no-hitters in both the National and American leagues, joining Young, Jim Bunning, Hideo Nomo and Nolan Ryan.

While the Braves hit several balls hard off Johnson, the closest thing to a hit was a slow roller by Johnson’s Atlanta counterpart, Mike Hampton, in the sixth.

“This was a legitimate perfect game, any way you slice it,” Estrada said.