Randy Johnson’s teammates prepare as Big Unit gets first crack at 300 wins Wednesday

Johnson’s teammates look toward No. 300

WASHINGTON — San Francisco Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria acknowledged he’ll be a little more edgy than usual when Randy Johnson starts against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Johnson is poised to become the 24th pitcher in major league history to reach 300 career wins, and his teammates are hoping to be a part of history.

“You’re going to feel a little different than a normal game, because everybody’s thinking about that,” Renteria said. “You’re going to be in the book too because everybody’s going to say, ‘Randy won 300, but I played in that game.’ When you tell your boys it’s going to be exciting.”

The 45-year-old Johnson will get his first chance at the magic number in his 597th career start. It also will be his second start against Washington, once called the Montreal Expos when Johnson made his debut with them in 1988.

Johnson allowed four runs and eight hits over five innings against the Nationals on May 11, getting the decision in San Francisco’s 11-7 victory. He is 4-3 with a 2.99 ERA in 10 career starts against his former franchise.

Opposing him is 23-year-old Jordan Zimmermann, who has pitched in a grand total of eight major league games and is looking for career win No. 3.

“I hope I’m not part of history tomorrow,” Zimmermann said before Tuesday night’s game against the Giants. “I have to go out there and pitch my game and not think about history in the making, I guess.”

Outfielder Randy Winn has seen teammates make history before. Winn was with the Seattle Mariners in 2004 when Ichiro Suzuki broke the single-season hits record, and played for the Giants when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s career home runs record in 2007 — against the Nationals.

“Obviously you know it’s there,” Winn said. “You know somebody’s coming up on a milestone, but you don’t really gain a true perspective on it until you’re years away from it.”

Johnson — whose first major league victory came on Sept. 15, 1988, five days after his 25th birthday — is hoping to become the second-oldest pitcher to reach 300 wins. Phil Niekro accomplished the feat at 46 on Oct. 6, 1985, when he shut out Toronto pitching for the New York Yankees.

Johnson usually doesn’t speak to the media the day before he’s scheduled to start and did not talk before Tuesday’s game. Manager Bruce Bochy was similarly reticent, saying he didn’t want to talk about Johnson’s possible milestone until Wednesday.

“He’s not here just for that,” Bochy said. “That’s probably frustrating Randy as much as anything. Even when that’s over, he’s here to win ballgames for us.”