Marlins seek remedy for road woes

LOS ANGELES -- "Win at home, split on the road" is the rule of thumb in the big leagues.

The Marlins have half the equation down. They've been outstanding at Marlins Park, sporting a 17-5 record, but they need some dramatic improvement on the road. After losing three straight in San Diego, Miami fell to 3-13 away.

"Maybe we need to put some white pants on," right fielder Giancarlo Stanton said.

The disappointing effort in San Diego revealed that Miami needs some home-cooking reminders.

Stanton called the four-game series at Petco Park "lackadaisical."

Even the team's lone win, 3-1 in 11 innings on Thursday, was uninspired until late.

The starting pitching struggled in each of the three losses, and what's disheartening is that the efforts were by the top three in the rotation -- Jose Fernandez on Friday, Nathan Eovaldi on Saturday and Henderson Alvarez on Sunday. Each was unable to pitch as many as six innings, and they combined to allow 13 runs (12 earned) in 14 innings. They also yielded 20 hits.

Fernandez's performance now is understandable, as it turns out the 21-year-old is hurt, and on Monday the club placed him on the disabled list with a sprained right elbow.

"We made a lot of pitches up in the zone," manager Mike Redmond said of the starters at San Diego. "We couldn't finish hitters. We just couldn't do anything, it seemed like."

The Padres, who rank next to the bottom in the Majors in runs scored, pushed across 24 in the final three games.

The road gets tougher with three games against the Dodgers and, beginning on Thursday, four against the Giants in San Francisco.

"Home is not going to save us every time," Stanton said.