SAN FRANCISCO — When the Giants presented Tim Lincecum with his Cy Young Award in a pregame ceremony Wednesday night, they also acknowledged past winners Barry Zito and Randy Johnson.

The crowd applauded wildly for Johnson as he warmed on the bullpen mound, but he didn't acknowledge the cheers with a tip of his cap. He didn't nod. He didn't break rhythm, continuing to fire sliders and splitters to catcher Bengie Molina.

Johnson showed his wistful, nostalgic side in spring training. When he took the mound in his Giants debut, he was a 45-year-old living squarely in the present day.

He couldn't conjure perfection, though. Johnson struck out seven in five innings, including the first two batters he faced, but Milwaukee pitcher Yovani Gallardo hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning that sent the Brewers to a 4-2 victory at AT&T Park.

Gallardo (1-0) was a two-way beast, proving a firmer challenge than Brewers opening-day starter Jeff Suppan. The 23-year-old right-hander held the Giants to two runs in 6 2/3 innings and saved his best work for his biggest jams.

Molina, the cleanup hitter, grounded into a double play with runners at the corners to end the first inning. He also hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded to end the seventh.

Johnson (0-1, 295-161 for his career) was making his first start for a Bay Area team since he fired a perfect game against Danville in his last game for Livermore High School. His wife and children watched from owner Bill Neukom's seats.

If the Brewers were geared up for fastballs, Johnson came out with the right game plan. The five-time Cy Young Award winner threw mostly offspeed pitches the first time through the order, getting the Brewers' aggressive lineup to chase sliders that broke away from their bats.

He struck out Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart to begin the game, and when he got two strikes on Ryan Braun, the fans stood in anticipation of something special.

The crowd groaned when Braun flied out to center field.

Mike Cameron hit a solo home run in the second inning, but Johnson didn't face a jam until Bill Hall hit a two-out double in the fifth. Giants Manager Bruce Bochy had Johnson intentionally walk catcher Jason Kendall to get to Gallardo, who entered with two home runs in 50 career at-bats.

Kendall? He had two home runs in his past 693 at-bats.

Johnson can't expect his fastball to blow away hitters any longer, but perhaps he tried to overmatch Gallardo with a belt-high, 1-2 pitch on the outside corner. Gallardo turned on the pitch — 93 mph according to a dubious stadium radar gun — and hit a high drive that disappeared behind the gate in the left-field corner.

Johnson isn't the Giants' No. 5 starter, but he effectively replaces the spot occupied by Kevin Correia, Pat Misch, Matt Palmer and Brad Hennessey last season. The Giants had an 8-25 record in those games; they were 5-14 when Correia took the mound.

So Johnson doesn't have to step into a time machine or rediscover his 98 mph heat to represent an improvement for the Giants. He just needs to give them a chance to win.

Aaron Rowand drove the offense for the second consecutive game, hitting a pair of doubles that contributed to the Giants' only runs.

His ground-rule double preceded Emmanuel Burriss' run-scoring groundout in the second inning. And he led off the seventh with a well-struck shot to the deepest part of right-center field, later scoring on Randy Winn's single.

The Giants loaded the bases after Gallardo walked Edgar Renteria and wild left-hander Mitch Stetter did the same with Fred Lewis. But right-hander Todd Coffey got Molina to roll over an outside pitch.

Johnson became the oldest Giant in 100 years; second baseman Arlie Latham played four games for New York in 1909 at age 49. Johnson is the oldest pitcher to start a game in Giants history; Warren Spahn was 44 when he pitched his final game for the Giants in 1965.