"Josh Johnson doesn't just look up to Roy Halladay.

He's borderline stalking him.

OK, not in the same way that wacko follows around Serena Williams, professing his love for her. That's plain sick. (Illegal, too).

But in a harmless, baseball way, yeah, the description fits here.

Johnson, the Marlins' 27-year-old ace, sees no fault in his more accomplished Phillies counterpart.

Is Halladay the gold standard for pitchers?

"Yes, absolutely," Johnson said Monday. "You name it, all the way up and down the list: attitude, the way he goes about it off the field, the work he puts in. Somebody you want to model yourself after."

Tonight will be the fourth time they have matched up, going back to Johnson's rookie year in 2006. The highlight was Halladay's perfect game last May 29 at Sun Life Stadium, but Johnson came back 12 days later and beat his role model, 1-0.

During that same series, Halladay was out in the bullpen at Citizens Bank Park, preparing to throw his between-starts session, when up walked Johnson.

"Kind of just moseyed around," Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee recalled with a smile.

The Marlins right-hander sheepishly asked Dubee if he could stay to watch Halladay's practice session."