Marlins swat Nats
Josh Johnson pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning and the Florida Marlins got home runs from Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla in an 8-3 victory over the Washington Nationals Tuesday night.
Two-run shots by Cantu and Uggla spoiled the return of Scott Olsen, chased early in his first regular-season game against the Marlins, who traded him in the offseason after drafting him in 2002.
Johnson (1-0) struck out eight and walked none, displaying the crisp pop on his fastball that could make him the ace of a promising young pitching staff. The right-hander came back from elbow surgery last July.
The only bright spots for the Nationals came on a two-run homer by Austin Kearns in the eighth and an RBI double by Cristian Guzman in the ninth that did little to take the sting out of a second straight blowout loss to start the season.
Olsen allowed eight runs and eight hits in three innings and never could find his command.