MIAMI -- Andrew Cashner is still waiting to register his first win in a Marlins uniform, but he's getting close.
The right-hander, who was acquired in a trade with the Padres on July 29, pitched well enough to win on Tuesday night in a 1-0 loss to the World Series champion Royals, but the Marlins' offense stranded eight baserunners in the series opener at Marlins Park.
Cashner yielded only one run, a decisive RBI single by Lorenzo Cain in the sixth inning after Cashner had walked leadoff batter Paulo Orlando -- Cashner's second walk of the game. Orlando then stole his 11th base and scored on Cain's liner to center on a 3-0 pitch.
"I knew [Cain] was swinging there. It was a good fastball," Cashner said.
What was frustrating for the Marlins were the scoring opportunities missed early on, as they had a runner in scoring position in three of the first four innings. They also left the bases loaded in the third.
"It's not like we had a ton of chances, but we had a few," manager Don Mattingly said. "It was one of those games where you felt it wasn't going to take too much [scoring to win]. Our guy was throwing it good, their guy [Yordano Ventura] was throwing it good. We just couldn't break through."
It's the ninth time this season that the Marlins have been shut out. It's the second consecutive one-run loss in which Cashner was the starter. He turned in a solid outing at Cincinnati on Thursday, but received a no-decision in a 3-2 Marlins loss.
"Overall, I moved the fastball well both sides of the plate, had some good changeups," said Cashner, who is 4-10 with a 4.73 ERA overall, and 0-3 since joining the Marlins.
Mattingly also said he was encouraged by Cashner's outing.
"He was aggressive," Mattingly said. "He mixed his breaking ball good early. That's a pretty good fastball-hitting club [in the Royals]. You've got to have some different looks with those guys, so I thought he did a nice job and our bullpen did a nice job."