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Marlins ace Johnson takes ball vs. Buccos

Apr 19, 2011 - 2:39 PM (Sports Network) - Right-hander Josh Johnson gets another chance to make his case as one of the National League's premier pitchers tonight, when his Florida Marlins host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game series at Sun Life Stadium.

Johnson, a 27-year-old from Minneapolis, is a two-time National League All- Star who finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting last season after going 11-6 with a 2.30 earned run average over 183 2/3 innings and 28 starts.

The ERA was the best in the NL.

He was equally impressive a season earlier with the Marlins, winning 15 of 20 decisions with a 3.23 ERA.

More of the same has come through his initial three starts of 2011, including 7 1/3 innings of scoreless one-hit ball with nine strikeouts in a 5-1 defeat of the Atlanta Braves in his last start on April 13.

In 20 overall innings thus far, he's surrendered only eight hits and three earned runs, holding opponents to a .118 batting average while walking five batters and striking out 18.

He's 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA in two lifetime starts against the Pirates.

Pittsburgh will start Mississippi-born lefty Paul Maholm, who's been impressive -- if not fortunate -- to begin the season.

Maholm has made three starts for the Pirates and lost a pair of decisions while the Pirates have scored just five runs.

He earned a no-decision after 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 5-3 loss at the Chicago Cubs, then combined for 12 2/3 innings with 12 hits and five earned runs allowed while losing to Colorado and Milwaukee.

Overall, batters have hit just .239 against him this season, 64 points below the .303 clip they managed in 2010, when he was 9-15 with a 5.10 ERA in 32 starts.

Maholm is 3-4 lifetime against the Marlins.

On Monday in Cincinnati, Kevin Correia pitched his second career complete game and Matt Diaz went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and scored twice, as the Pirates handled the Reds, 9-3, in the finale of a four-game set at Great American Ball Park.

Andrew McCutchen and Steve Pearce each knocked in a pair of runs for Pittsburgh, which took three of the four games in the series.

Correia (3-1) allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four hits, walked two and struck out five. The 30-year-old righty threw 109 pitches, 73 for strikes, and improved to 7-1 in 14 career games, including nine starts against Cincinnati.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, Carlos Ruiz's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth was the difference as the Phillies beat the Marlins, 3-2, at Citizens Bank Park.

Florida starter Anibal Sanchez allowed only two runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out eight in six innings.

Ryan Webb (0-2) pitched the eighth and took the loss.

The Marlins won six of eight meetings with the Buccos a year ago.