Again! Josh Johnson flirts with no-hitter, loses it late

Give Josh Johnson a few more tries and he's eventually going to get that no-hitter he's been hinting at early this season.

For the second time in his three starts this year, the Florida Marlins ace took a no-hitter past the sixth inning, holding the Atlanta Braves hitless through seven innings in a 5-1 victory on Wednesday night.

Johnson held the New York Mets hitless for six innings in the Marlins' opener before Willie Harris led off the seventh with a double.

Making Wednesday's scene even more interesting was that it was almost a year to the day that the Braves were no-hit by the Colorado Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez. (What is it about mid-April in Atlanta that makes the home team's bats go suddenly cold?)

Johnson was even more dominant in this second no-hit effort than in his first. He held the Braves hitless through seven innings, striking out nine batters. And he even got one out in the eighth inning. Just five outs away from that elusive no-hitter.

But Freddie Freeman finally broke through on Johnson's 109th pitch, fighting off a high 95 mph. fastball and lofting it over third baseman Greg Dobbs. With a 5-0 lead and a pitcher who was likely spent after exceeding 100 pitches, Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez then took Johnson out for the night.

After the game, Johnson�explained to the Sun-Sentinel's Juan C. Rodriguez why he decided to challenge Freeman with a fastball:

"The pitch before I threw a changeup down and it looked like he kind of leaned out there a little bit, so I said, 'OK, let's try to go in there and see what happens,'" said Johnson, who flung a 95-mph fastball into Freeman's kitchen. "I got in there on him. I was like, 'Really, come on.' If he hits it hard you tip your hat, but that's baseball."

Florida eventually finished off the victory, but Johnson's early-season brilliance is the story. In three starts, he's allowed three earned runs and eight hits. According to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, Johnson is the first pitcher to throw multiple April no-hit bids of at least six innings since Derek Lowe did it in 2002 for the Red Sox. But that's really a bit wordy, isn't it? "No-hitter" would be much more clean and simple.

But if Johnson keeps this level of performance up, he should accomplish that feat soon enough. Maybe he'll even do it by May. With six innings of no-hit ball in his first start, followed by 7 1/3 no-hit innings in his third, Johnson is on pace to finally complete nine innings of hitless baseball in his ninth start this season.

Kylie Bax Diora Baird Laura Prepon Ashley Scott Michelle Behennah