MIAMI _ Navigating the second inning has been a painful exercise for Miami Marlins starter Adam Conley the last two times he has pitched at Marlins Park.
The eight runs the erratic left-hander gave up to the Pirates with two outs in the second (nine runs overall) on April 28 was the low point of his career.
What happened with two outs in the second inning Monday may have stung worse. Giving up a three-run double to the opposing pitcher sent another Conley start veering into a ditch on the way to a 9-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Carlos Martinez, a .179 career hitter and 0-for-11 this season, turned on a first-pitch fastball from Conley and drove it into the left-field corner. He wouldn't have gotten to bat had Conley finished off the No. 8 hitter, Magneuris Sierra (.167 average beginning the night).
With two on base and two out in the second, Conley got ahead 0-2 on Sierra, who swung and missed badly at the first two offerings. But after two balls evened the count, Conley left a juicy changeup over the plate and Sierra lined it to right for a single to load the bases.
Not only did Martinez quickly clear them, two innings later he showed the double wasn't a fluke by lining another run-scoring hit to left. The four RBI by Martinez were half as many as he had in his career when the night began.
Conley didn't make it out of the fourth as Matt Carpenter's two-run triple sent him packing. The Cardinals added another parting shot with Carpenter scoring on Jedd Gyorko's double off Brian Ellington.
That left Conley on the hook for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. In his past three starts, the lefty has allowed 21 runs (18 earned) in 10 2/3 innings, an ERA of 15.19.
Marcell Ozuna's two home runs and three RBI for the Marlins weren't nearly enough to compensate for Conley's shortcomings.
Marlins embarrassment didn't end with Conley's departure. The next time Martinez came to the plate, against Ellington, a wild pitch advanced runners to second and third. Both scored when Martinez hit a bouncer to second and the throw home eluded J.T. Realmuto for an error on the Marlins catcher.
It was the second error of the inning, which began with Derek Dietrich booting Aledmys Diaz's grounder to third. Dietrich will be getting most starts at third with Martin Prado (hamstring strain) on the disabled list, manager Don Mattingly said before the game.
The previous inning ended when Dietrich was thrown out at second attempting to stretch a single into extra bases. It took a replay review lasting 2:36 to uphold the out call. The replay showed Dietrich getting his foot on the base ahead of the tag, but it was unclear if he stayed on the bag _ the ruling was simply that the call stood.
Dietrich also figured in an early exit by Mattingly after being called out on strikes to end the second. Mattingly came out between innings and argued vigorously with plate umpire Hunter Wendlestedt about the third-strike fastball, which appeared outside on FoxTrax.
Mattingly may have had another motive in trying to wake up his club, which was showing little life while falling into the early hole. If so, it proved futile as once again the Marlins failed to gain traction following a strong performance (Sunday's 7-0 win at New York).
The Marlins haven't won two consecutive games since April 22-23, and have followed each of their past four wins with defeats.
The biggest Marlins moment Monday was eye-opener as Ozuna's first homer soared 433 feet, one of the longest hit to center field at Marlins Park by anyone not named Giancarlo Stanton. The second one, to left field, was Ozuna's 11th as he briefly took over the team lead from Stanton, who matched it with a homer to center in the ninth.
The two-homer game was the third of Ozuna's career and second this season (April 11 vs. Atlanta).
It remains to be seen whether Conley will remain in the starting rotation. Mattingly said before the game that Conley needs to command his fastball to have success, particularly in throwing inside to right-handers. Conley hit Yadier Molina with one such pitch in, and walked three in addition to allowing six hits while throwing 84 pitches (52 strikes).
