Volquez erratic in defeat

tied the Cardinals’ Carlos Martinez for the most by a pitcher in a game this season.

At times, Volquez confounded the Rays, who made only three outs by contact against him, the same numbers as the hits he allowed. Only one was hard-hit, and it was pulverized for a home run by Logan Morrison.

With two outs in the third inning, Volquez had recorded five consecutive outs on strikes (four of those hitters caught looking), sandwiched around a pair of walks on which he threw only one pitch for a strike.

He opened the third with back-to-back strikeouts, then left a sinker up to Morrison that the Rays first baseman walloped 393 feet into the right-field seats.

The ball, which smacked loudly off a seat, was the hardest-hit of Morrison’s six homers this season, according to Statcast, coming off the bat at 109.6 mph, a low-flying missile on a 22-degree beeline for the exit.

The Marlins struggled to put anything together against Alex Cobb, who has had his own issues with erratic performances. His outing appeared in jeopardy early by a blister on his pitching hand, and then he fouled a pitch off of his right shin before striking out in the second.

But the Rays righthander turned in his best outing of the season with six shutout innings on four hits. He was under little stress after the Marlins left Martin Prado (double) on third in the first inning when Giancarlo Stanton was called out on a close pitch high on the outside corner.

LYNNE SLADKY/AP Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb throws during the fifth inning on Tuesday. He had his best start of the season, recording six shutout innings on four hits.