Marlins remain within reach of Wild Card despite alarming 11-game skid

MIAMI -- Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez didn’t initially see time being called during the seventh inning, being so focused on catcher Liam Hicks and opposing batter Luis Rengifo.

But then came the faint sound of the fire alarm in the distance as well as lights flashing around loanDepot park -- distracting enough for play to be delayed for several minutes.

The way things have gone for the Marlins over the past 15 days, it was hard not to acknowledge the symbolism of the moment.

The Marlins matched a franchise record with 11 consecutive losses in Saturday’s 7-2 defeat to the Padres. The club also did so in June 2011 and twice in the 1998 season. Only one other Major League club has lost at least 11 in a row this season: The last-place Mets, who dropped 12 straight from April 8-21.

Miami (52-53) also fell below .500 for the first time since June 17, and remained three games back of the final National League Wild Card spot.

“It's almost like we're playing just good enough not to win, that type of thing,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “It's kind of how it's been going. We have one tomorrow, and to come out and -- again -- try to break this streak and this storm cloud or these rough seas that we are navigating right now. They'll end, and I wish I had a crystal ball to know when, but they will, and still a ton of confidence in everyone here that we'll get this thing turned in a different direction.”

Pérez couldn’t be blamed for the final result, tossing a career-high 104 pitches and allowing three runs over seven innings for his fourth consecutive quality start. He scattered six hits and walked one while striking out just two batters -- none until retiring Jake Cronenworth on a sinker to open the sixth.

San Diego scored two runs on Ty France’s two-out single in the third, then again on Gavin Sheets’ sacrifice fly in the seventh. The big takeaway was McCullough permitting Pérez to work out of his own jam, as the organization gives the 23-year-old more leeway post-rehab and even further removed from elbow surgery.

Despite the loss, Saturday marked the latest solid outing from Pérez, who has a 1.55 ERA over his last eight starts dating back to May 22.

“I don’t think I would qualify this as a great quality start because there was a lot of soft contact and a few runs I’m not too happy about,” Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante. “But we kept working on the mound. [I’m] very grateful for the fact they let me finish that seventh inning. The trust is something I really appreciate. We’ll continue to work really hard, get the team out of this losing streak.”

Once again, quite a bit of the blame could be placed on a lineup averaging 2.45 runs per game during the skid.

Following San Diego’s two runs in the third, Otto Lopez responded with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame. But Jakob Marsee was thrown out trying to advance from first to second on Sheets’ throw home, which momentarily got away from catcher Freddy Fermin with pitcher Randy Vázquez backing him up.

“I wouldn't say press, but we’re always trying to get something good going on,” said Lopez, who is playing through discomfort in his right ring finger. “Of course, I would say it's not happening, but it gets to a point where we've been fighting through, and things just don’t work.”

When the Marlins began mounting some semblance of a rally in the eighth, they ran themselves into another out.

Down 6-1, both Esteury Ruiz and Lopez reached on infield hits. The elusive knock with runners in scoring position (.157 average entering Saturday) materialized on Kyle Stowers’ RBI single to center, but Lopez was thrown out hoping to go from first to third on the play.

“For the most part, we just haven't done enough within these games to find a way to get on top and to win,” McCullough said. “We're all in this together. A lot was, ‘Hey, what does Eury need to do today for the team to break this?’ I think ultimately it's like, ‘What does our team need to do to break it?’ It's not one person that's going to stop this. It's going to be a collective effort, and so I kind of view it that way: that all parts have to be involved for us to turn this around.”