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Johnson to make season debut vs. Dodgers

Jul 10, 2008 - 1:08 PM Florida (47-44) at LA Dodgers (44-46) 10:10 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Josh Johnson will make his long-awaited season debut when the Florida Marlins begin a four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Johnson will make his first start since July 4, 2007, on Thursday after undergoing ligament replacement surgery August 3.

The righthander, who went 11-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 24 starts in 2006, spent the first three months of last season on the disabled list due to nerve irritation in his right arm. He made a brief return in mid-June but lasted only four starts before returning to the 15-day DL with right forearm stiffness and never took the mound again.

The Dodgers will answer with Chan Ho Park (4-2, 2.36 ERA), who will get his second straight start with Brad Penny still on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis. The righthander, who is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in four starts this season, did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 5-2 loss against the San Francisco Giants despite allowing one run and three hits with seven strikeouts over seven frames.

A win on Thursday would allow Los Angeles - which swept Florida in a three-game series from April 29-May 1 - to reach .500 for the first time since May 30 (27-27) when Park got the win in relief vs. the New York Mets.

The National League East and NL West are the only divisions that have teams with less than 50 wins leading them. Florida trails NL East-leading Philadelphia (49-43) by 1.5 games while Los Angeles is deadlocked with the Arizona Diamondbacks (45-46), making this four-game set a potentially pivotal series if one team can catch fire heading into the All-Star break.