Josh Johnson shines as Florida Marlin defeat Atlanta Braves 4-3 – MLB Spring Season Review
Starting pitcher Josh Johnson put in a tremendous pitching performance as he got three strikes and allowed only a single run to help the Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in their Grapefruit League encounter on Monday, March 7 at Roger Dean Stadium
in Florida.
His performance was a tremendous confidence boost for him, as even though he had an average start with Martin Prado getting a double off of him in the beginning of the game, Johnson managed to fight back and restrict the Braves’ offence.
In just over three innings pitched, Johnson allowed only one run off three hits and got three strikes. It seems that Johnson has come into some decent form and the Marlins will be happy with his recent performance as the regular season looms closer.
Johnson was satisfied with his performance against the Braves. "It's not going to come right away, but I was frustrated for sure," he said. "You don't want to go out there and look like that. I was a lot better today."
On the other hand, the Braves’ Tim Hudson had a decent performance as he gave up only four hits and allowed one run during the three innings that he managed to pitch. The Braves put up a decent fight as Nate McLouth hit a home-run, his first in Spring Training.
However, the night belonged to the Marlins as in the 10th inning, Bryan Petersen managed to drive in the winning run. The Marlins dominated the game as the Braves seemed to be struggling slightly during the game.
The key for the Marlins was Johnson. During the press conference he said, "I'd rather be better and better each time out leading up to the season, than all of a sudden just starting to ramp it up toward [Opening Night]."
It seems that Johnson’s back problems are a thing of the past, as he did not show any signs of back issues while he was pitching. The Marlins will be happy to know that Johnson seems to have gotten his strength back and now that his back issues have subsided,
he will be a dominating force in the Marlins’ pitching line-up.
The Marlins looked very good in their Spring Training outing against the Atlanta Braves. It looks as if the team is working hard and coming together at the right time. With the regular season right around the corner, the Marlins will be looking to get their
players into extra work-out sessions and try to put in some winning results for the remainder of the spring session. It will be interesting to see how much confidence the Marlins will build during spring and how long they will be able to carry their momentum
into the regular season.
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