"At the rate he's going, Josh Johnson is bound to throw a no-hitter sometime soon.

On Opening Day he took one into the seventh.

On Wednesday, he carried one into the eighth.

Johnson came within five outs of becoming the fifth Marlins pitcher to toss a no-hit gem before the Braves' Freddie Freeman spoiled his bid with a one-out double in the eighth of a 5-1 Marlins victory.

Freeman was jammed on the pitch — a 1-0 fastball — but somehow managed to muscle it over the head of Marlins third baseman Greg Dobbs.

"It was sad to see it happen, a jam shot down the line" left fielder Logan Morrison said. "I just thought, 'You've got to be kidding me.'"

Johnson's immediate reaction on a pitch he thought he had located perfectly: "I was like, really? If he hits it hard, OK, you tip your cap. But that's baseball."

What balls the Braves managed to hit against Johnson weren't struck with great authority. Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward hit line drives in the second, but directly at Marlins fielders for outs. Otherwise, the Braves didn't do much with Johnson, who struck out nine.

"He's amazing," manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We haven't seen the best of J.J. yet.

"That's my opinion. In years to come, he's going to become the best pitch in baseball. I can see that coming."

Johnson already looks pretty good. He posted the lowest ERA in the National League last season.

On Wednesday, his only fault was in running up his pitch count by issuing three walks and working deep into counts on a few hitters."