San Diego @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 25, 2010 ) San Diego 3, Florida 0
Josh Johnson may be the best pitcher in baseball right now, no matter who the manager in the dugout happens to be.
Johnson will be looking to introduce the San Diego Padres to his particular brand of domination when he takes the mound for the Florida Marlins on Saturday.
Led by interim manager Edwin Rodriguez after the surprising ouster of Fredi Gonzalez earlier in the week, the Marlins players and their fans have been treated to a host of rumors about the identity of their next skipper.
Reports have surfaced on Friday that Bobby Valentine had been offered a four-year contract by the team. As for Saturday, it will likely still be Rodriguez by the time the game starts, giving the former Triple-A manager a chance to even his record at 2-2.
Johnson, who has not suffered a loss since May 29, has arguably moved past Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez on the amazing scale of late.
The 26-year-old Johnson has allowed one earned run or less in each of his last eight starts, suffering his only loss in that span when he happened to start opposite Roy Halladay during his perfect game.
Johnson’s 1.80 ERA ranks among the major league leaders, and his 0.98 WHIP is good for second in the National League. The right-hander does it all with dominant natural stuff, posting 98 strikeouts in 100 innings so far this season.
The Tommy John survivor made a start against the Padres earlier in the season, allowing one run on three hits while striking out 12 and walking one in a complete-game win. In four career games – two starts - against San Diego, Johnson is 2-1 with a miniscule 0.56 ERA, notching 17 strikeouts in 16 total frames.
Since returning from surgery and rehab in late 2008, Johnson has posted a 30-8 record with a 2.95 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 3-to-1.
He will face a Padres lineup that lacks explosiveness yet always seems to be just good enough this season, as the club has climbed to first place in the NL West. It was Wil Venable getting the job done in the series opener on Friday night, clubbing a two-run homer in the seventh inning to snap a scoreless draw. San Diego went on to secure a 3-0 win.
Adrian Gonzalez – the lone slugger in the Padres' lineup – has faced Johnson four times in his career, notching a single and a striking out once.
San Diego will send veteran right-hander Jon Garland to the mound on Saturday. Playing for his fifth team in the last four seasons, Garland has fit in nicely with the rest of San Diego’s staff of pitch-to-contact hurlers. He has allowed 85 hits and issued 38 walks in 91 innings but still sports a 3.26 ERA thanks to the Padres stout defense and large ballpark.
He had one of his best starts against the Marlins back on April 27, allowing one run on three hits in six innings while striking out 10 to earn the win.