ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ The Marlins' bats Thursday night matched the tiny Tropicana Field crowd: largely silent.
Miami lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1, its third loss in the four-game Citrus Series with Florida's only other major league team. For the Marlins, it was also a seventh loss in nine games, their worst stretch of the young season, dropping them to three games under .500 at 12-15.
On Thursday, it was the right-handed Matt Andriese, who doesn't throw particularly hard or particularly effectively, who shut the Marlins down. He struck out eight in seven innings, scattering five this and three walks.
The Marlins had their chances, including four hits in their first 10 plate appearances.
That included Adeiny Hechavarria and Dee Gordon leading off the third with back-to-back singles. Martin Prado, getting a half-day off as the designated hitter, hit a sharp grounder to third that nearly turned into a triple play. He beat a relay throw to first, keeping the ultimately scoreless inning alive.
Starting with Prado's out, the Miami bats went quiet _ again. The Marlins went 1 for 15 into the eighth inning.
That offensive output looked much more like the Marlins' losses against the Rays at home this week (three runs in two games) than their win against Tampa at Tropicana on Wednesday (10 runs in one game). During this skid, the Marlins have averaged 3.6 runs per contest _ a number inflated by a pair of 10-run efforts. In six of those nine games, the Marlins have scored two runs or fewer.
Gordon walked and stole second in the fifth inning, but he slid past the bag and got caught in a rundown between second and third. He has already matched his April stolen base total (four) in May.
Right-hander Dan Straily's outing was odd. He finished five innings at 109 pitches, the most by a Marlins starter this season, and four runs allowed on only three hits. Tampa Bay supplemented that with five walks against Straily.
All four runs scored on a pair of hits. In the second, Brad Miller walked and Tim Beckham homered. In the fourth, Colby Rasmus walked and Beckham homered again.
That fourth inning proved to be particularly difficult for Straily, who threw 42 pitches (23 strikes). After Beckham's second long ball, he walked two batters _ Derek Norris and Daniel Robertson on a combined 17 pitches _ and bobbled a bouncing ground ball to load the bases. He escaped without further damage, minus the climbing pitch count.
Tampa Bay's third hit was nearly a homer as well, but Evan Longoria's fly ball bounced off the upper half of the wall in right-center field.
Straily's five walks matched a season-high. He has walked multiple batters in five out of his starts.
Right-hander Jose Urena pitched a scoreless seventh inning, throwing only six pitches.
Manager Don Mattingly on Wednesday named Urena as a candidate to start for the Marlins on Sunday in place of Edinson Volquez (right thumb blister) depending on the team's bullpen need this week. Whether the Marlins go with Urena or a Triple-A option _ perhaps lefty Justin Nicolino, who would be lined up to start on regular rest _ was not immediately clear.
