"Under typical circumstances, it means nothing. A harmless, bloop-double down the left-field line off Josh Johnson with one out in the eighth and the Marlins up 5-0. Except these weren't typical circumstances, which is why left fielder Logan Morrison as he retrieved the ball said to himself, "You've got to be kidding me."

That's how Johnson's second legitimate bid in three starts to throw the franchise's fifth no-hitter ended Wednesday at Turner Field. Left-handed hitting rookie Freddie Freeman fought off a 1-0 inside fastball and dumped it over third base for the first of two Braves hits in the 5-1 Marlins victory.

"The pitch before I threw a changeup down and it looked like he kind of leaned out there a little bit, so I said, 'OK, let's try to go in there and see what happens,'" said Johnson, who flung a 95-mph fastball into Freeman's kitchen. "I got in there on him. I was like, 'Really, come on.' If he hits it hard you tip your hat, but that's baseball."

Freeman's 1-0 jam shot came on the 109th pitch of Johnson's outing. Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez immediately removed Johnson, who has never thrown more than 121 pitches in a game. He reached that number three times in 2010 and has thrown 117-119 on five other occasions.

Even before fielding a question after the game, Rodriguez said, "Yes, I was going to let him pitch the ninth." Rodriguez approached Johnson in the top of the seventh, and Johnson assured him he was here for the team and would respect whatever decision the manager made.

"I was paying more attention to the effort of his pitches than his pitch count," Rodriguez said. "By the fifth inning I knew it's coming to pitch count late in the game. I was concerned. It was a tough decision?It depends what kind of effort he [needed] to close that eighth inning, but you're asking me now, I would say yes."

Johnson looked like he would not be denied his place in the history books after striking out former teammate Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward on six pitches to close out an eight-pitch seventh."