MIAMI -- The Marlins should have been hopping on their charter flight to St. Louis following series victories against a pair of clubs that missed out on the postseason in 2023.

Instead, Miami made history by becoming the first team in Major League history to start a season with a seven-game skid after making the postseason the year before, in Wednesday afternoon’s 10-2 loss to the Angels at loanDepot park.

During the first winless homestand of at least seven games in franchise history, the club trailed at the end of 36 of 67 innings (54 percent). When the Marlins held a rare lead, they lost it, on Opening Day, Sunday and Monday. Over the latter two contests, the Marlins were the fourth team since 1974 to take at least a four-run lead in the first inning of consecutive games only to drop both.

“Some tough losses for sure … there were some winnable games that I thought we had, and then got our butt kicked in other games,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I would say it was definitely a mixed bag. I would be more upset if it was again lack of effort, lack of preparation, all that stuff. I know I said that yesterday, but it's really not that way.

“They're going about it the right way. It's tough. They're not happy in there. We're not happy. As a staff, we're here to try to help them get better and help them win games, and we're not doing that right now, obviously, with no wins. So we've got to circle up as a staff and figure out how to get them on the right track.”

Starting pitching sets the tone, even more so for the Marlins. With right-handers Edward Cabrera and Eury Pérez as well as left-hander Braxton Garrett rehabbing injuries, Miami leads the Majors with the most walks (21) and ranks toward the bottom in ERA (5.93).

Left-hander A.J. Puk’s second career start went slightly better than the first (six walks over two-plus innings), but he still allowed four runs (though two were unearned) with three free passes and five strikeouts across four frames.

Puk needed 34 pitches in a two-run first, though he was the victim of bad luck. All three of the Angels’ hits didn’t qualify as hard hit (95+ mph exit velocity) and came with two strikes. Puk did bounce back with an 11-pitch second before another two runs scored in the third on third baseman Vidal Bruján’s fielding error.

“Just part of it right now,” Puk said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys in new spots, and it's going to come along. Guys aren't [in] panic mode yet. You'd like to see starters going five, six innings for sure. It's going to come.”

The starting pitching trouble, in turn, has had a direct effect on the offense and bullpen.

Miami continues to find itself in early holes, trying to claw back. Nearly the entire lineup is back that scored the National League’s fewest runs in 2023, and that was with All-Star slugger Jorge Soler. The club was outscored, 51-24, and out-homered, 9-4, on the homestand.

“Obviously, [Soler’s] a great power hitter and definitely helped this lineup last year,” said Jake Burger, who leads the club with eight RBIs. “We know what we have in this clubhouse, though, and we have a lot of guys that can hit 30 home runs. It's just trying to find our groove and not trying to do too much in a single at-bat. I think that's what happens when you're going through a little scuffle, you're trying to hit an eight-run home run, and it's not possible. It's just playing each pitch and playing each situation and not trying to get ahead of ourselves.”

Moving Puk into the rotation, plus the staff’s short starts (4 1/3 innings on average), have taken a toll on the bullpen. Miami already has cycled through righties Declan Cronin (optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville), Vladimir Gutierrez (designated for assignment) and Burch Smith (acquired from Tampa Bay) as well as lefty Kent Emanuel (contract selected from Jacksonville).

Dealing left-hander Steven Okert to the Twins for Nick Gordon has also put quite the burden on fellow southpaws Tanner Scott and Andrew Nardi.

“The season, I know, it feels long already in that clubhouse because it's seven games and no wins, but it is really early,” Schumaker said. “However, these games do count. Playoff teams get in by one or two games every year. And so we've got to figure it out if we want to get to where we want to get to.”