Sept. 19, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins catcher Rob Brantly (19) heads towards the dugout during the bottom the of the fourth inning against he Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Issuing two walks and two strikeouts in a no-earned-run 5-inning appearance last night, Wade LeBlanc had a short but successful understudy appearance for the hamstring/hip flexor-addled Josh Johnson. The Mets’ Jeurys Familia, however, couldn’t find the plate early on, and issued six free passes in four innings. Miami pitchers Tom Koehler and Dan Jennings started the Bullpen on Parade with a shared sixth inning, and then it was successive innings by Ryan Webb, Heath Bell, and Steve Cishek for frames 7,8, and9 respectively. Koehler had the roughest appearance, giving up three hits and one earned run.  The remainder of the bullpen gave up a total of one hit and one walk. Heath Bell pitched the only other punchout of the night.

Scoreless into the fifth inning, it was Giancarlo Stanton who opened the dance with a rising line drive that would have landed on the Rickenbacker causeway if it wasn’t for the pesky concourse wall in left-center. His 37^th blast of the year, the Marlins offense woke up, scoring one in the sixth, the tying run in the seventh, and the winning run off of Rob Brantly’s RBI double in the eighth.

Please refer to Ehsan Kassim’s  upcoming preview of tonight’s game for a look at the R.A. Dickey and Adam Greenberg story.  Wednesday features Met RHP (3-7, 5.32 ERA) faces TBA, a fire-breathing strikeout machine from the depths of hell win an 0,01 ERA. Or maybe it will be Chad Gaudin, if the report on the Marlins team site is accurate. Either way, it’s the end of the season, so look for Ozzie to take a look at some guys he’d like to watch closely next spring.

September 26, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson (55) pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Tomorrow, the Mets arrive to put a three-game series cap on the ugly Marlins season.

Josh Johnson takes the hill in an effort to add another win to his record for the year.  With the awful run support generated by the Marlins, the outstanding job Johnson had delivered this season only has three wins to show for it.  Johnson hasn’t yielded more than three runs in all but one of his last 12 starts. Let’s hope that Met callup Jeurys Familia like to serve up cotton balls.  Familia is being looked at by the Mets organization as a potential starter next year, and tomorrow will be his first start.  He’s seen some big-league time this year since his September callup, throwing out of the bullpen seven times.

As always, the trouble spots to look out for tomorrow involve the bullpen and Marlin bats.