MIAMI _ Jose Urena kept throwing strikes until his Marlins teammates figured out what to do with off-speed pitches.
The result was a 3-0 victory against the Dodgers and a much-needed series win to bolster Miami's diminishing playoff hopes.
Urena not only turned in the best performance of his career but one of the best by a Marlins pitcher this season.
The 24-year-old Dominican allowed only four hits, all singles, while coming within one out of recording the first complete game of the season by a Miami starter.
He was lifted after a two-out single by Josh Reddick in the ninth. A.J. Ramos got the final out for his 34th save, completing the shutout in a tidy 2 hours, 26 minutes.
Urena struck out four and didn't walk a batter, rarely going to three balls in a count while throwing 71 of 108 pitches for strikes. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter, rarely going to three balls in a count.
Urena retired the first 14 Dodgers before Joc Pederson sent a 3-1 fastball into center field with two outs in the fifth.
Allowing back-to-back singles in the seventh was the first hint of trouble, but the right-hander got Yasmani Grandal to ground into an inning-ending double play. That pushed Urena past his previous career high of 6 2/3 innings.
The Marlins had lost their previous five series, and hadn't won one at Marlins Park since July 25-27 when they took two of three against the Phillies.
Winning two of three from the Dodgers, and finishing the season series 6-1 against the National League West leaders, was no easy achievement.
The Dodgers threw the Marlins a curve all weekend. Again and again.
No wonder Kenta Maeda was determined to lull them to sleep with a steady stream of breaking balls and changeups. The strategy worked so well the previous night for Rich Hill, who tossed seven perfect innings against Miami while throwing 51 curveballs among 89 pitches.
The initial results were similar for Maeda, who faced the minimum through three innings (Dee Gordon had a hit but was erased on a double play).
The Marlins finally put effective at-bats together in the fourth against the rookie from Japan when they scored two runs on five hits while sending eight men to the plate.
Maeda's countryman, Ichiro Suzuki, began a string of three consecutive hits by serving a soft single to center off a slider. Martin Prado followed with an opposite-field single, slapping a changeup to right on the sixth pitch.
Christian Yelich also battled Maeda for six pitches, going the opposite way on a 3-2 slider to send Ichiro home. Prado scored on Justin Bour's sacrifice fly to deep right on a deep drive that Reddick was able to run down on the warning track.
Hits by Prado and Yelich in the sixth led to another run. Reddick misplayed Yelich's single for an error that allowed Prado to reach third. A second error on the same play, on Corey Seager's wild relay throw, enabled Prado to trot home.
The Marlins missed a chance to add to the lead after Yelich reached third with no outs.
Urena was efficient from the beginning. He needed only 26 pitches (19 strikes) the first time through the order and 79 through seven.
Urena had a notable relief appearance against the Dodgers at Los Angeles in April when escaped a bases-loaded jam and went on to record his first career save.
After not getting a hit until the eighth inning Saturday, the Marlins got one quickly when Gordon hit Maeda's first pitch into center field. Ichiro then hit the first pitch he saw back to Maeda, who started a double play.
