The Florida Marlins broke their four game losing streak on Wednesday night as they beat the Washington Nationals. It was nice to see the fish finally win another game even if it was just against the pesky Nationals.

Josh Johnson improved to 6-1 on the year as he tossed six innings. Johnson allowed six hits and two runs in the game as he pitched his final game of the year. I expect Johnson to have a great season next year as he did wonderfully for the Marlins this year.

Ryan Tucker gave up three hits and two runs as he made things interesting late in the game but the fish were able to hold on for the win.

Hanley Ramirez and Josh Willingham both hit solo home runs in the game. They were not the team leaders in the rbi column however as Jeremy Hermida and Matt Treanor both finished with two rbi each. Jorge Cantu and Gaby Sanchez had the other rbi’s for the Marlins in the game.

Good win for the Marlins and they can even up the four game series with a win against the Nationals on Thursday.

Marlins Blog

The Florida Marlins had a nice 4-1 victory on Wednesday night over the Atlanta Braves as they held the Braves to only three hits on the night. It was a very good pitching performance by Josh Johnson as he pitched eight innings and then turned things over to who pitched the ninth inning to record the save.

The offense got a single run in the third inning on a Wes Helms rbi and then two more rbi’s in the fifth inning on a Hanley Ramirez single. In the ninth inning, Dan Uggla added a solo home run off Blaine Boyer for the fourth and final run for the Marlins.

Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson was marvelous as he tossed a complete game and only allowed one run to score. That one run came in the fifth inning when Johnson gave up a groundball to shortstop and the Braves scored. Johnson improved to 4-0 on the season with the victory.

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The Marlins beat the Mets 7-5 to take the rubber game of the series.  They knocked the Mets out of first place, handed Mike Plefrey his first loss since the end of May, and are now just a game and a half out of first.  

Starter Josh Johnson, making just his fourth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery finally got his first win of the season.  The Marlins are now 4-0 when Johnson has started for them.  In 6.2 innings pitched, Johnson allowed four runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out two.  Not only did he pitch well but Johnson hit a RBI double in the fourth inning.  

The Marlins offense really broke out in the fourth inning.  With the Mets leading 1-0, Jeremy Hermida tripled to lead off the inning.  Jorge Cantu singled to center allowing Hermida to score and tie the game.  Mike Pelfrey then retired to get Dan Uggla and Mike Jacobs.  It was with two outs that the Marlins did the real damage.  Cody Ross trippled to right, scoring Cantu from first.  John Baker doubled to center field, scoring Ross from third.  Baker would score on Josh Johnson’s double to center.  Hanley Ramirez grounded out to second to end the inning, but the Marlins would lead the game 5-1.  The Mets looked like they would make a run at tying up the game when Damion Easley hit a three run homer in the top of the seventh, however Dan Uggla added two insurance runs with he hit a two run homer off Joe Smith in the bottom of the eighth.  Uggla now holds the record for most homeruns by a second baseman in his first three years as a starter.  The Mets would add one more in the top of the ninth, but the Marlins hold on to win 7-5. 

The Colorado Rockies come to town for a four game set.  Anibal Sanchez will make his first start of the season.  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

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The Marlins lost to the Mets 4-1 on Tuesday night.  The Marlins, who are very much in the thick of the NL East race, now fall two games behind the first place Mets. 

Starter Scott Olsen gave up three straight doubles to the first three Mets hitters in the first inning, but only one run would score, Jose Reyes was thrown at at third trying to stretch his double into a triple, Nick Evans hit a double and scored on David Wright’s double.  But, Olsen would settle in and retire Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran only allowing one run.   In 5 2/3 innings of work, Olsen allowed just two runs on five hits, walked two, and struck out five.  He left the game with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning, turing the ball over to Matt Lindstrom.  Lindstrom got Damion Easley to pop up to end the Mets threat.  However, Renyel Pinto entered the game in the top of the eighth, he walked the lead off man and then gave up a two run homer to Carlos Delgado. 

The Marlins had a total of six hits they were only able to score one run.  As a team, they left nine guys on base.  The Marlins scored their lone run in the bottom of the first.  With two out, Jorge Cantu doubled to left and he would score on a double by Josh Willingham.  The Marlins had a chances to score but couldn’t get the big hit.  In the fifth inning with one out Scott Olsen singled to center field, Olsen would move to second on a single by Hanley Ramirez but, Jeremey Hermida hit into a double play to end the inning; that is just one example of what happend; in the sixth and seventh the Marlins also left runners in scoring position. 

Starters for Wednesday Josh Johnson with a 3.71 era and Mike Pelfrey 9-6 with a 3.67 era.  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

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The Florida Marlins had another game winning home run as Hanley Ramirez went deep in the 11th inning and the Marlins defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 on Thursday night.  That is an exciting way to begin a four game series against the Dodgers!

Ramirez took Marlins reliever Brian Falkenborg deep for the game winner.  John Baker also had a solo home run in the second inning.  Jorge Cantu, Josh Willingham, and Josh Johnson had the other three rbi for the team.

On the mound, Johnson tossed five innings while giving up six hits and three runs.  Johnson didn’t walk any batters but he did strike out six as he got the no decision.  Joe Nelson pitched two innings to get the win and Kevin Gregg notched his 18th save as he finished the Marlins off.

The Marlins will now try to go up 2-0 in the four game series as the two teams will play once again on Friday.

Marlins Blog

The Florida Marlins defeated the Seattle Mariners 8-3 Wednesday night, taking two out of three games against the AL West club. As they have done all season long, the Marlins used the long ball to power the team to victory, getting two run HRs from Mike Jacobs, his 17th, and Dan Uggla, his 21st. Rookie right hander Ryan Tucker picked up the win, his second in three starts. The win, combined  with a Philadelphia Phillies  loss to the Boston Red Sox, pulled The Fish to within two games of the Eastern Division lead.

Tucker gave the Marlins a solid six inning start, giving up two earned runs on seven hits, striking out four. He featured a lively fastball in the mid nineties, and had good command. He only walked two batters, which was very encouraging indeed, considering the control problems which have periodically plagued Marlins pitchers this year. Suddenly the Marlins’ pitching staff seems to be jelling into a formidable, if still a bit inconsistent, unit. The team that started the season with more question marks than answers, is now starting to evolve into one of the most promising young pitching staffs in the league. Tonight’s performance by Tucker follows another impressive start by Andrew Miller on Monday, giving the Marlins a potent lefty-righty rookie punch. Both youngsters feature electric arms that can bring the heat at 96 mph, accompanied by good breaking pitches. The talent is obvious; the only question was whether they can consistently show the command of the strike zone needed to win games in the major leagues. In addition to these two phenoms, the starting staff has gotten good performances from the “old men” of the staff, Scott Olsen, 24, and Ricky Nolasco, 25, who has emerged surprisingly as the team’s stopper this year. If this young staff continues to perform at this level, the Marlins have to be considered favorites to win the Eastern Division. Admittedly that’s a big “if” because the rookies are still learning how to pitch at the major league level, but the talent is there, and that talent, combined with a Marlins offense that bludgeons the opposition nightly under a  barrage of home runs, could carry this team to victory down the stretch. In baseball, it all begins and ends with pitching, and this young pitching staff is starting to come around. They will be getting a boost soon with the return of Josh Johnson and maybe Anibal Sanchez as well, so the prospects certainly are bright.

In addition to the good start from Tucker and the almost routine long ball display by the offense, the Marlins’ defense played an error free game, and the bullpen closed it out, but not before closer Kevin Gregg got everyone nervous again in the ninth inning. If the Marlins are to contend down the stretch, it is going to take more than just home runs and good performances by the starting pitchers. They are going to have to have more games with a big fat “0″ under the “E” on the scoreboard, and Gregg and the rest of the bullpen are going to have to tighten up their act as well. The Marlins slugging has enabled them to mostly overcome their suspect fielding this year, and the bullpen has been wildly inconsistent. Gregg in particular has been a 9th inning cardiac arrest in progress; even when he does manage to get the save he does so the hard way, walking batters, giving up hits, and in general making Marlins fans sweat every last out. Memo to Kevin: a one two three ninth inning is ok, you know. Every game does NOT need a dramatic ending.

Anyway, two out of three from Seattle is very good, and now The Fish are off to Oakland for three games starting Friday.