Washington @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2010 ) Washington 4, Florida 0
The Washington Nationals rode their ace right-hander to a victory in their series opener against Florida.
On Saturday, it will be time for the Marlins' top hurler to show his stuff.
Josh Johnson looks for his 10th victory of the season as he leads the Marlins into the second of a three-game weekend series against the visiting Nationals. Florida enters the day 2 1/2 games ahead of Washington in the race to avoid the NL East basement.
The Nationals struck first behind the electric arm of Stephen Strasburg. The 21-year-old phenom threw six scoreless innings for the first time this season, striking out seven as Washington opened the series with a 4-0 triumph on Friday night. The outing lowered Strasburg's ERA for the season to 2.03 while giving him 68 strikeouts in just 48 2/3 innings.
The Nationals did all of their scoring in the sixth inning with Josh Willingham's bases-clearing double and Ivan Rodriguez's RBI sacrifice fly providing all the offense Strasburg would need. Drew Storen and Matt Capps combined to toss three innings of scoreless relief as Washington won for just the third time in its last 13 road games.
Putting together a winning streak won't be so easy.
Johnson (9-3) is competing with Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez for early NL Cy Young honors after a sizzling first half of the season. Johnson is tops in the majors with a 1.70 ERA, sits among the leaders with 123 strikeouts and has been the best pitcher in the majors over the past two months, allowing a paltry eight runs over his last 11 starts.
The 26-year-old had a typically strong outing in his last appearance, throwing eight shutout innings while striking out eight in a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The strong outing marked the 10th time in the last 11 games that Johnson has allowed fewer than two runs.
Making matters worse for the Nationals is just how mightily they've struggled against Johnson. He owns a 6-0 record all-time against Washington with a 3.55 ERA over 13 appearances (12 starts). He faced them in back-to-back starts in early May, earning a victory and a no-decision.
Washington counters with veteran right-hander Livan Hernandez (6-5). The 35-year-old was among the NL leaders in ERA into mid-May, but has gone just 2-4 in 14 decisions since then. He has allowed four or more runs in four of his last six starts, ballooning his ERA to a less impressive 3.37 for the season.
Hernandez, who began his career with the Marlins in 1996, is 13-8 all-time against his former team with a 3.52 ERA in 204 1/3 innings. He last faced Florida on May 9, when he earned a no-decision despite throwing seven innings of one-run, five-hit ball. The Marlins went on to win 3-2.