Florida @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 8, 2010 ) Florida 8, Philadelphia 10
Josh Johnson was great on May 29, but nobody talks about his performance.
That's because Roy Halladay was flawless or, more to the point ... perfect.
Halladay tossed the 20th perfect game in major league history that late May day as the Philadelphia Phillies recorded a 1-0 triumph over the Florida Marlins.
Not wanting to be upstaged again, Johnson will receive another crack at Halladay on Thursday as the Marlins (28-31) look to snap a four-game losing skid against the Phillies (31-26). The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed due to rain.
On Tuesday, Ben Francisco's two-run single highlighted a three-run eighth inning as Philadelphia broke out of an offensive funk with a 10-8 victory over Florida.
Ryan Howard blasted a two-run homer, Shane Victorino added a solo shot and Raul Ibanez went 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles for the Phillies, who had scored only 29 runs en route to losing 11 of 15 prior to Tuesday's contest.
How rare was the offensive outburst? Well, it was just the third time in the last 16 games that Philadelphia scored more than three runs.
Florida wasn't without its power supply.
Hanley Ramirez belted a two-run home run and 20-year-old rookie Mike Stanton went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in his major league debut with the Marlins.
While runs were flowing freely Tuesday, one would think they'll be at a premium with Halladay (8-3, 2.03 ERA) and Johnson (6-2, 2.10 ERA) on the mound.
The prize acquisition of the Phillies in the offseason, Halladay struck out a season-high 11 batters in his perfect outing and flustered the Floridians more than a snowstorm on Christmas Day.
Prior to the 27th out, Halladay showed little emotion and gave no indication that he would bow to the moment. After getting pinch hitter Ronny Paulino to ground out, the 33-year-old right-hander finally flashed an uneasy smile and wrapped his arms around catcher Carlos Ruiz.
For his part, Johnson wasn't half-bad. Actually, he was pretty darn good. Save for an unearned run in the third inning, the 26-year-old right-hander allowed just seven hits in seven innings while striking out six.
Johnson has allowed just one earned run his past 32 innings. That's nearly perfect, but be careful using that word around the Marlins ace.