Rollercoaster (a.k.a. Jason Johnson) didn't have it on Sunday. Todd Jones earned the nickname with the Tigers for always making the end of games interesting, Johnson is earning the name in a different way, due to his inconsistent starts, one game pitching amazing, the next resembling a performance like what the Tigers might receive from a pitcher from the Tigers rookie league team.
Johnson's most recent start was much more rookie-like, he pitched 3-plus innings, allowing 4 runs to score before giving way to the Tiger bullpen. Despite the move, the bullpen couldn't slow the Marlin offense down either, as Al Levine and Steve Colyer each allowed runs to score during their appearance.
The Marlins meanwhile had no issues on the mound, as young stud Dontrelle Willis pitched a complete game with 8 strikeouts. Willis and his elevating fastball fooled the Tigers all game long, especially Dmitri Young, who simply couldn't lay off the pitch (Young went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts and a GIDP).
The onlye good news at the plate for the Tigers was (surprise, surprise) at the top of the order, where Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez each had an RBI, while Alex Sanchez had a pair of hits. The Marlins meanwhile got support from top to bottom, but none more notable than from their top 2 of Luis Castillo and Juan Pierre, who combined for 7 hits (including Pierre's inside-the-park Home Run).
The Tigers, now back to 4 games under the break-even mark, have an off day on Monday before venturing to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies for a 3-game set. In the first game, Jeremy Bonderman goes up against Ryan Madson. Fox Sports Detroit has the game, which starts at 7:05pm.