Josh Johnson could miss start with sore back

According to manager Edwin Rodriguez, Josh Johnson is “50-50" to make his scheduled start Friday against the Nationals because of lingering back soreness. Johnson, who is third in the NL with a 2.30 ERA and fourth with 186 strikeouts, has been dealing with the problem for weeks. While he’s remained solid, he’s missed out on quality starts three times in seven outings since the beginning of August. Because the Marlins are 8 1/2 games back in the NL East and eight games behind the Phillies in the wild card, it’s possible Johnson will be shut down for the season if his back fails to improve. With Ricky Nolasco already done for the year, the Marlins have been stretched to find starters lately. Wild left-hander Andrew Miller recently joined the rotation, and veteran minor leaguer Adalberto Mendez made his major league debut by starting the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. Mendez was impressive, but he was forced out after six scoreless innings because of a quad injury. Two other starters, Chris Volstad and Alex Sanabia, will have to serve suspensions later this month because of their roles in last weeks’ brawl with the Nationals. The Miami Herald reports that Johnson didn’t throw his usual between-starts side session on Tuesday. More will be known about his availability come Wednesday.