MIAMI _ On Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not have to worry about a repeat of the previous night's agony. Kenta Maeda gave up a single on his first pitch of a 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins, an outcome Roberts would have preferred on Saturday, rather than dealing with the frustration of removing Rich Hill after seven perfect innings.
The shoe was on the other foot Sunday. The Dodgers did not record a hit off Marlins starter Jose Urena until there were two outs in the fifth inning. Joc Pederson became the team's first man on base when he rolled a single up the middle.
Maeda (14-9, 3.28 earned-run average) gave up three runs in six innings. He met the criteria for a quality start, but he received no support from his offense. After Pederson's hit, the lineup managed only two more singles.
"I thought Kenta pitched well enough to win," Roberts said. "Urena was really good. He pitched well. Moved the ball around. He was really throwing his slider with depth, throwing it for strikes, which he hadn't been doing. He's got a big arm, and we just couldn't get anything going."
Miami snatched a pair of runs in the fourth on a series of singles. A run scored after three in a row from outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, third baseman Martin Prado and outfielder Christian Yelich. Prado scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Justin Bour.
Two innings later, defensive breakdowns cost the Dodgers. After a leadoff single by Prado, Yelich singled into right. Josh Reddick bobbled the baseball, which invited Prado to head to third. Corey Seager tried to gun him down there, but his throw sprayed wide, allowing Prado to score.
"I got into trouble with runners on base," Maeda said. "I didn't execute."
