Florida Marlins Starting Staff Improves to 3-0

Ricky Nolasco has a win. So does Josh Johnson. Now you can add Chris Volstad to that list.

You probably read somewhere Florida has the best pitching staff in the east. Not only have the Marlins won their first three games, but their starting pitches have account for all three of those victories.

The most impressive of the outings undoubtedly came from Johnson who went six-and-two-thirds innings without giving up a run. He also added eight strikeouts.

Volstad was also impressive in defeating the Nationals on Wednesday, striking out seven in only five innings of work. Volstad allowed only one earned run and probably would have gone deeper into the game if not for a shaky first inning.

Nolasco was the least impressive of the three, but there were many positives to be seen in his start. Although he gave up five earned runs in six innings he did manage six strikeouts.

It also must be taken into consideration that the majority of his runs came after the Marlins had some breathing by scoring a quick eight runs. Besides a three-run home run to Adam Dunn Nolasco was rather solid in his six innings.

So what does this mean for the Marlins?

This means the Marlins have a fighting chance in the NL East. These three pitchers need to go 2-1, on average,  every time through the rotation for the Marlins to be in contention late in the year.

That is mostly because you have to hope for one victory to come from Anibal Sanchez and Andrew Miller's replacement. Yes, that is right; I am already assuming Andrew Miller will have a replacement.

Did you see what he did today? He came in with a three run lead, and promptly loaded the bases. Quickly realizing his mistake, manager Fredi Gonzalez went to Kiko Calero to save the day. Calero looked amazing striking out three of the five batters he faced.

Miller does not deserve to be in one of the league's best rotation. He single-handedly could cost the Marlins a playoff spot.

It is my belief the Marlins will first look inside of the organization to find his replacement. I still believe Ryan Tucker has the ability to fill the fifth spot in the rotation for the Marlins. The guy has nasty stuff and big league experience.

Moving on from Miller, even in the Marlins three victories, another problem could be seen. Aside from Calero, the Marlins bullpen looked horrendous. I do not blame Lindstrom entirely for his near blown save today, but he certainly did not recover from Florida's defensive woes well.

Instead of pitching to strikeout machine Adam Dunn, he pitched around him and walked in a run. Then he gave Austin Kearns a pitch he could tie the game on. Luckily Brett Carroll was able to snare the line drive just before it hit the grass.

I think Lindstrom will be fine. The performance of Leo Nunez, Renyel Pinto, and Logan Kensing was concerning though. The Marlins need to be able to rely on these guys just to get the game to Lindstrom intact.

In the first two games the Marlins had big enough leads that the bullpen could afford to be shaky. But after the ball left Volstad's hand Wednesday afternoon the Marlins seemed destined to give the Nationals the lead back.

If the Marlins want to be competitive they need to shore up the fifth spot of their rotation as well as their bullpen.

No complaints about the offense. Even when the Marlins were making outs the balls still were coming off the bats like lasers.

Surely Emilio Bonifacio will cool off, but the production from his bat as well as Hanley Ramirez's, John Baker's and Jorge Cantu's make the Marlins top four look amazing.

The Marlins will look to continue their success Friday night against the Mets with Anibal Sanchez taking the mound.