Marlins shut out

Offense and pitching struggle in loss.

MIAMI — Marlins left-hander Caleb Smith embarked on the best stretch of his brief major league career simply by throwing strikes. He refused to nibble on the edges of the strike zone. Instead, he trusted his pitches would garner swings and misses. Smith did. Until Thursday. During the Marlins’ 7-0 loss to the scuffling Dodgers in front of 13,820 at Marlins Park on Thursday afternoon, Smith struggled to command his pitches in lasting just three innings. He walked four batters and surrendered four runs to help Los Angeles (17-26) snap a six-game losing streak.

It was Smith’s third outing this season of three innings or fewer. The Marlins lost all three games. On Thursday, Smith gifted the Dodgers with as many walks as he’d allowed in his previous four starts and 24 innings combined. He still managed four strikeouts.

Despite the loss, the Marlins (16-27) won the season series against the Dodgers by winning four of the teams’ six games.

As Smith suffered an early exit, the Marlins offense struggled to generate offense against Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda. Maeda cruised through the Miami lineup, finishing eight innings with just 96 pitches on his ledger. He set down the final 17 Marlins he faced.

Only Derek Dietrich’s second inning double and Yadiel Rivera’s pinch-hit, thirdinning single sullied Maeda’s nearly pristine pitching line.

It was the sixth time this season the Marlins have been shut out. Last season, Miami was shut out eight times across the

entire year.

Marlins right-handed reliever Junichi Tazawa had another poor outing, allowing three runs in his sole inning of mop-up duty. In his past two outings, Tazawa has allowed seven runs. He’s recorded four outs. His overall ERA now rests at an inflated 9.00.

Tyler Cloyd threw five innings of relief for the Marlins. He did not allow a run.

Smith