MIAMI _ Consistency has not been Edinson Volquez's virtue to begin his career with the Miami Marlins.
That is the short version of why the right-hander has yet to record a victory with his new team or reach the late innings in any of six starts.
The latest, in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, not only was the most erratic of his 13-year career, it was historic in that regard.
Volquez became the first pitcher to issue as many as eight walks and strike out nine in fewer than five innings, according to Elias Sports, in the modern era (since 1913). Mike Remlinger had seven walks and fanned nine in 41/3 innings with the Reds in 1998.
Volquez also lasted only 41/3 innings before leaving because of a blister on his right thumb. He gave up three runs while throwing 91 pitches. Only 42 were for strikes, as the zone eluded him frequently and saw him pitching behind in the count repeatedly.
His career-high eighth walk was completed by reliever Dustin McGowan.
Volquez exited with a 3-1 count on Brad Miller after throwing a 94-mph sinker into the dirt. He seemed to grimace after releasing the pitch, and the trainer came out a moment later.
It was not known if he will be able to make his next start.
The Marlins lost four of five on the homestand, including the first two of the Citrus Series, which concludes with games Wednesday and Thursday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Marlins pitchers walked 11 and struck out 15 in the game.
Volquez's eight walks tied the Cardinals' Carlos Martinez for the most by a pitcher in a game this season.
At times, Volquez confounded the Rays, who made only three outs by contact against him, the same numbers as the hits he allowed. Only one was hard-hit, and it was pulverized for a home run by Logan Morrison.
With two outs in the third inning, Volquez had recorded five consecutive outs on strikes (four of those hitters caught looking), sandwiched around a pair of walks on which he threw only one pitch for a strike.
He opened the third with back-to-back strikeouts, then left a sinker up to Morrison that the Rays first baseman walloped 393 feet into the right-field seats.
The ball, which smacked loudly off a seat, was the hardest-hit of Morrison's six homers this season, according to Statcast, coming off the bat at 109.6 mph, a low-flying missile on a 22-degree beeline for the exit.
The Marlins struggled to put anything together against Alex Cobb, who has had his own issues with erratic performances. His outing appeared in jeopardy early by a blister on his pitching hand, and then he fouled a pitch off of his right shin before striking out in the second.
But the Rays right-hander turned in his best outing of the season with six shutout innings on four hits. He was under little stress after the Marlins left Martin Prado (double) on third in the first inning when Giancarlo Stanton was called out on a close pitch high on the outside corner.
It has been a rough stretch for Stanton, who was 1-for-17 on the homestand before ripping a run-scoring double to left off reliever Erasmo Ramirez in the eighth. The right fielder is 3-for-25 (.120) since April 22, when he hit the last of seven homers in the opening month.
Miami put two runners on in the fifth with one out, but Prado and Christian Yelich were unable to advance them.
