NewsJohnson set for duel with former mate
Florida (33-36) vs. New York (38-29), 7:10 p.m. ET
By David Villavicencio / MLB.com
06/19/09 11:02 PM ET
MIAMI -- On Saturday night, right-hander Josh Johnson will take the mound and try to even the series against the Yankees. To do so, he will have to outpitch a former Marlins righty who cleared the way for Johnson to make his first big league start. The 6-foot-7 Johnson filled in for an injured A.J. Burnett on Sept. 30, 2005, and allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings in his first start in the Majors. Johnson recalled the short time he spent sharing a clubhouse with Burnett. "When I got called up, he was up here," Johnson said. "My first big league start was in place of him. He's a great guy and he's one of the best pitchers in the American League. He's also real fun to watch." As a 21-year-old rookie, Johnson soaked in anything he could from his veteran teammate. Now 25, the Marlins' ace is appreciative of the advice Burnett bestowed upon him when he first arrived in the big leagues four years ago. "I was only here for 2 1/2 or three weeks, but he gave me some pointers," Johnson said. "He would always tell me to go out there and keep doing what I do and not try to do anything extra." Burnett recognized his former teammate's talents immediately and expected him to flourish into one of the top young arms in the game. "He had a good arm and he was a good kid when he first came up," Burnett said. "He also had a great feel for pitching at that young age. Seeing what he's doing now is not surprising at all." The Yankees hurler was once in a similar position to that of Johnson. The hard thrower was a talented young pitcher who flashed signs of brilliance early in his big league career. Burnett is excited to see some of the players he shared a clubhouse with in his seven years as a Marlin. "I think Josh is the only one that's still around," Burnett said. "[Scott] Olsen and [Josh Willingham] got traded off, and [Jeff] Conine and [Andy Fox] are here, but they're not playing anymore." Burnett will be facing the Marlins for the first time in his career, and he is looking forward to pitching in South Florida again. Florida is the only team the right-hander has never faced in his career. "It's going to be fun," Burnett said. "I'm in such a good mood coming here and seeing everyone. They all remember me and it's a good feeling being here. Getting on that mound again is going to feel really nice, too." Johnson has felt pretty good on the mound at Land Shark Stadium this year, going 3-1 with a 2.02 ERA. He is confident that the Marlins will continue to play well, and he hopes that their solid play will lead to victories. "We've been playing good baseball," Johnson said. "We have a really tough stretch that we've been going through, but we've been playing well and that's all we could ask for. Hopefully we'll end up on the winning side." Pitching matchupNYY: RHP A.J. Burnett (5-3, 4.46 ERA)
Burnett was brilliant in his last start, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just four hits and striking out eight against the Mets on Sunday. He had one tough frame, when he loaded the bases with nobody out and the top of the Mets' order coming up. But he struck out Alex Cora and Fernando Martinez in succession, then got Carlos Beltran to line out to shortstop to escape the jam. Afterward, Girardi called it one of the keys to the entire game, a 15-0 victory. FLA: RHP Josh Johnson (6-1, 2.76 ERA)
Johnson has made 14 starts, and the Marlins have won 11 of them. The 25-year-old comes off his second complete game of the season on Sunday, when he went the distance at Toronto. It also was his sixth straight quality start, and fifth consecutive outing of at least seven innings. Johnson also threw a career-high 119 pitches. About the only negatives were that he allowed three walks and yielded two home runs for the first time in a game this season. He's now been taken deep six times in 98 innings. Tidbits
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who grew up in Miami and attended high school at nearby Westminster Christian, was out of the starting lineup on Friday and is expected to also miss Saturday's game because of fatigue. "That's a great disappointment," Rodriguez said. "It's the first time in my career that I get to play here in the regular season. Miami, I love this place. I was really looking forward to it." ... Left-hander Renyel Pinto (left elbow inflammation) was reinstated off the 15-day disabled list on Friday, with right-hander Cristhian Martinez being optioned back to Double-A Jacksonville. Pinto, who had a strikeout and a walk while throwing a scoreless fifth inning Friday night, said he will eliminate throwing off flat ground from his pregame routine in order to throw fewer pitches and not get fatigued as quickly. ... Right-hander Anibal Sanchez (right shoulder sprain) will need an OK from team doctors before he can start throwing again. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he hopes Sanchez can begin to lightly toss on Saturday or Sunday. ... Gonzalez said utility man Alfredo Amezaga (left knee contusion) has been swinging the bat and throwing, but there's still no timetable for when he can get in some rehab games. Amezaga "really hasn't had significant progress," Gonzalez said. Tickets
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• Sunday: Marlins (Chris Volstad, 4-7, 4.75) vs. Yankees (CC Sabathia, 6-4, 3.67), 5:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Marlins (Andrew Miller, 2-3, 4.56) vs. Orioles (Koji Uehara, 2-4, 4.30), 7:10 p.m. ET
David Villavicencio is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
