Marlins Look For Eighth Win On Road Trip
HOUSTON, Texas (CBSMiami) – The Miami Marlins look to get back on the winning track in Houston Wednesday night to close out an impressive West Coast road trip.
Miami hit the road to start May and hasn't looked back since. The Marlins swept the San Francisco Giants to start the month and followed that up with a sweep of the San Diego Padres. The Marlins won the first game against the Astros. Houston won Tuesday and now the rubber match is Wednesday night.
If the Fish can pull out a victory, it will be the most successful road trip in the history of the franchise.
Miami is sending pitcher Josh Johnson to the mound as he looks for his first win since April 19…of 2011. Johnson is 0-3 on the season and has a brutal 6.61 ERA. He lasted just 2.2 innings against the Padres and his performance has led manager Ozzie Guillen to question his health.
Johnson isn't blaming his health, but his pitches haven't had the same movement they had in the past and he's still working on keeping the ball down in the strike zone.
On the season, Johnson has given up 23 runs in 31.1 innings pitched. The worst part of his numbers is that opposing batters are hitting .359 against him this season. For his career, opposing hitters are hitting .245 against the Marlins ace.
Johnson had seemed to turn the corner in mid April, but then at the end of the month, he gave up 10 hits and 5 earned runs against the Diamondbacks and then gave up 6 earned runs against the Padres.
Before the season, Marlins management said Johnson could be the key to making real noise in the playoff race. Unfortunately for the Marlins, Johnson still seems a long way off from being right.
