MVN: Most Valuable Network

Land Shark Stadium - 7:30 PM - Josh Johnson vs Jordan Zimmerman

BOX

Josh Johnson was knocked out of the game early on Wednesday night but the rest of the Marlins, including Cody Ross who homered and knocked in two runs, were able to pick him up and sweep the Nationals to move themselves into a prime position to move into a tie for first place.

Josh Johnson: 3.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 4 BB, 3 K - Picked a good day to not be at his best which still only meant one earned run because even if he was, he only would've lasted five innings anyways because of rain. Furthermore, it was more so him being victimized than it was him being off as during his 3.1 innings, the weather was the result of Mother Nature not being able to make up her mind. It was raining (more like misting) just enough to get you wet but the sun was still out enough to make you sweat. Couple that with the fact that Johnson has always been better at night than in the day, especially this year seeing as how his ERA is 1.68 points better and his WHIP is .33 points better under moonlight, and you get this kind of outing. No need to fret. Everything is under control.

Emilio Bonifacio: 1-4, R - We're finding out what Beinfest and Gonzalez meant when they said "he does something to help you win every game". In the Marlins' last six wins, he has gone 9-28 with four RBIs and five steals. He has also played much better defensively lately, not erroring since June 24, a span of eight games. His previous season long errorless streak before this was seven games.

Cody Ross: 2-4, R, 2 RBI - Broke out of a 1-15 slump by homering in the 7th and knocking Ross Gload in in the 8th. Last year, Ross was labeled the streakiest man on earth, regularly having spells similar to that 1-15 in between spells where he'd hit two to four homers. This year, he's dropped his planetary title, and can now simply be labeled streaky. It doesn't sound like much but that 1-15 was the first time he's failed to collect at least five hits in five games.

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Sean West vs Craig StammenBOXSean West labored through his 4.1 innings on Tuesday night, giving up five runs to the lowly Nationals and putting the Marlins in an early four run hole but thanks to back-to-back three run innings in which Hanley Ramirez knocked in three runs, the Fish rallied just in time, taking the lead in the 7th and eventually winning a rain shortened game, 7-5.Sean West: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K - Had an A typical start to his night for a Marlins starter, struggling in his first three innings, allowing a run and letting a runner get into scoring position in two of them but unlike the rotation has been able to do until now (judging by their .318 OBPa and 2.23 K/BB in them) settle down in the three innings after that as he... Read more

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Ricky Nolasco vs Scott OlsenBOXThe Marlins' struggles as a whole vs lefties continued (they're now hitting just .252/.318/.406/.725 vs them as a team) but Ricky Nolasco was able to stick to a two run tie, giving his offense the time it needed to get into the pen and with a two run 8th, which included a clutch sac fly by Emilio Bonifacio, he picked up his third straight win in the first game of a three game set against Washington.Ricky Nolasco: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K - Tossed a clean first before giving up a first homer to Ryan Zimmerman and what would've been a second homer to Josh Willingham in any other park. The Nationals would rightfully and justifiably so get the run though on a fielder's choice and an infield base hit. This prolonged the Marlins'... Read more

Tropicana Field - 1:30 PM - Andrew Miller vs Scott KazmirBOXAs Andrew Miller struggled through his 6.1 innings, Scott Kazmir shined through his, stifling the Marlins and holding them to just one run as the Rays completed the sweep and pushed the Fish back down below the .500 mark.Andrew Miller: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K - Struggled with his control early, throwing just 19 of his first 35 pitches for strikes and giving up three runs. never really settled in as he gave up seven more baserunners and allowed five of them to get into scoring position. Two of them got there because he didn't pay attention to guys who had singled and theoretically gave them stolen bases, proven by the fact that one of them was Carlos Pena. Mark Wiley needs to take these boys to school on the art of the pitchout and the... Read more

Tropicana Field - 7:10 PM - Chris Volstad vs Scott KazmirBOXAfter touching Scott Kazmir up for two runs in the first three innings, the Marlins' offense struggled against the Rays' bullpen, going 2 for their last 15, allowing Tampa Bay to come back, tie the game, and eventually win in walk off fashion as they took the 2009 Citrus Series. Against relief pitchers this year, the Marlins are OPSing just .684.Emilio Bonifacio: 1-3, R, BB, 3 SB - Walked, stole second and third, and scored on a sac fly. Almost any other MLB player doesn't even get to third in that situation, let alone score (run expectancy with a runner on first and one out is 0.573). He stole a third base after singling in the 3rd. It was just his eighth chance for a steal this month. Before tonight, he had only been sent five times. He's been on... Read more

Tropicana Field - 7:30 PM - Josh Johnson vs James ShieldsBOXHanley Ramirez did what he had already done four three over this five game win streak, homered to left. However, it wasn't enough to extend it to six games as the Rays knocked Josh Johnson out of the game after just six innings, touched the bullpen for four runs, and went on to win, 7-3 in the first game of the Citrus Series.Chris Coghlan: 1-4, R - Lead off the game with his eighth XBH this month. It was also the eighth time he's lead off a game with a hit. In the leadoff spot, he's hitting an even .300 with a .381 OBP.Hanley Ramirez: 3-5, R, 2 RBI - Plated Coghlan two batters later and homered with two outs in the 7th. Good players thrive in clutch situations. Hanley is now hitting .347/.431/.644/1.075  with eight homers with two outs.... Read more

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Sean West vs Rich HillBOXOn Thursday night, every Marlin had a hit, seven had at least two hits, and two had three hits as they demolished the Orioles 11-2 completing the sweep, winning their fifth straight game, and getting to within one game of first place in the NL East.Dan Uggla: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI - Hill set down his first seven Marlins on just 13 pitches before this guy singled in an attempt to get the offense going. After the offense went 7 for their next 15, he homered in his next AB. Know that groove I was talking about yesterday? He may have found it as he is now 11 for his last 37 (.297) and is hitting .226, the best he has been hitting since April 26.Cody Ross: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI - Knocked in Uggla for the... Read more

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Ricky Nolasco vs Jason BerkenBOXJudging by the quality of his last four starts, after his baseball career, Ricky Nolasco may have a future as a jeweler. Nolasco spun his fourth straight gem on Wednesday night, shutting out the Orioles over seven innings. He was backed by RBI hits by Cody Ross and Hanley Ramirez as the Marlins took their fourth straight to get back above .500.Ricky Nolasco: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R (0 ER), BB, 7 K - Proved that its not only Chris Volstad who needs to pay attention to runners as he allowed Brian Roberts to get a walking lead from second and get to third uncontested with only one out in the 1st but then came back to strike out Nick Markakis and get Aubrey Huff to ground out to end the inning. After that, he set down his... Read more

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Andrew Miller vs Koji UeharaBOXComing into Tuesday night's game, since 2005, the Marlins had had a lot of success against Asian import pitchers, hitting .275 with an 11-5 record against them. That success only halfway continued against Koji Uehara as the Fish touched him for seven hits but only one run. More of those would eventually come though. The Marlins ripped the Baltimore bullpen which has been very good of late, for six runs, the last of which came in the bottom of the 12th inning, erasing an undoing by their own bullpen and getting themselves back to .500 for the first time since May 13.Andrew Miller: 7 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K - Gave up a double on the second pitch, an extra base on the third pitch, and a sac fly RBI on the fifth pitch. didn't like the... Read more

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Chris Volstad vs CC SabathiaBOXChris Volstad's recent struggles ended a bit sooner than expected on Sunday night as he posted a quality start against the .272/.352/.470 Yankees. He was backed by home runs by Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross as the Marlins took the series from New York with a 6-5 win.Wes Helms: 1-4, RBI, 3 K - Finally broke an 0-26 streak with RISP with an RBI single in the 1st. However, I still maintained he doesn't belong in the two hole. He spent the rest of the afternoon proving me right, striking out three times.Brett Carroll: 1-4, K - Finding a very nice stroke, especially against lefties. At one point in the game tonight, he was hitting .300. If the Marlins aren't hitting Ronny Paulino second because they're worried about him slowing Hanley down on the basepaths (which is a very... Read more

Land Shark Stadium - 7:10 PM - Josh Johnson vs A.J. BurnettBOXIn front of 47,000, Josh Johnson spun a gem on Saturday night, giving up just three hits and one run, preserving an early two run advantage and getting the win over AJ Burnett and the Yankees in the second game of a three game series.Dan Uggla: 1-4, R, RBI, 2 K - Hit his second homer in three games in the 2nd, marking his second straight four plus homer month. Through his struggles, the one stat that has remained constantly decent has been his SLG as it has rarely dipped below league average (.413). However, he's below league average in every other stat category. He also struck out twice in the game, running his four game K/BB to 6/1. Before that, Uggla had finally been on pace to post a good OBP figure this month. He's now on pace... Read more