I think it is safe to say, the Marlins desperately needed to win Sunday to avoid falling too far off the pace in the NL East. Enter Josh Johnson. The 6′7″ 230 pounder took to the mound and made sure that didn’t happen. Johnson looked dominant again, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs while scattering 5 hits and striking out 5. Johnson improved to 3-0 (the Marlins improved to 6-0 in games he’s started) and lowered his ERA again, down to 3.19.

The Marlins entered the weekend series against the New York Mets 1 1/2 games behind Philadelphia for first place. After losing Friday and Saturday, the Marlins had dropped to third place, 1 1/2 games behind the second place Mets. Sunday’s win kept the Marlins within scratching distance of the Mets in second and the Phillies in first place. The Marlins are still in third place, 1/2 game behind the Mets and 2 1/2 games behind the Phillies.

What started as a promising road trip earlier this week, fizzled at the weekend. The Marlins took 2 of 3 from Philadelphia before losing 2 of 3 to New York. The road doesn’t get any easier this coming week as the Marlins return home for a 7 game homestand. Up first are the St. Louis Cardinals for 4 games and then a 3 game weekend series with the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs.

The Marlins don’t have time to rest, they’ll need to perform well in these series to keep themselves in the NL East race. At this point, the Wild Card is not going to be an easy option as the Marlins are 5 games back of the NL Wild Card leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Marlins can do themselves a real favor by dispatching St. Louis this week who is in second place in the Wild Card standings, but that won’t be easy either.

Plain and simple, the Marlins MUST win each series they play in the next month and a half to keep themselves in the thick of things. Their best chance at the playoffs lies in winning their first NL East title ever as that race is much closer than the Wild Card race. Its time for the Marlins show baseball they are for real!