MIAMI -- Frustrations are mounting for the Marlins, and it reached the point on Saturday night where three-time All-Star Giancarlo Stanton slammed his bat after a flyout and was later seen pounding the turf in the outfield with his fists between innings.
The Marlins fell, 3-1, to the Braves at Marlins Park, which was the 14th loss in their last 17 games.
Throughout the downslide, level-headed manager Don Mattingly has remained calm and not overreacted. After Saturday's setback, he was asked about Stanton's emotional rants, and noted everyone is frustrated. The question is how much is the club willing to take before responding?
"It's frustrating for all of us," Mattingly said. "I don't know what to make of it. You have to talk to Giancarlo about frustration. I don't know if he's frustrated about his at-bats or us not winning? I'm not quite sure what his frustration is over. Obviously, you see it over time when he thinks he's got a pitch to hit and he doesn't hit it.
"Obviously, with the way we're playing, everyone will feel a little frustrated. But at some point, how much are you going to take? Really, as a team, how much are you going to take? Are we going to come out and fight and play hard every day, or are we going to give in and think the season is not going to be a good one?"
In his second season with the Marlins, Mattingly is trying to navigate the club through some trying times. In the past week, the club was hit hard by injuries. Third baseman Martin Prado (right hamstring strain), shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (left oblique strain) and infielder Miguel Rojas (broken right thumb) each went on the disabled list.
Starter Wei-Yin Chen (left arm fatigue) is still on the DL and may be for a while, and right-hander Edinson Volquez (right thumb blister) was on the DL until being reinstated and starting on Saturday.

The team is looking to gain some kind of momentum.
"You can't quit right now," center fielder Christian Yelich said. "It's May. If everyone in here quits, it's going to be a pretty long year. Obviously it's a really tough stretch. It's been hard. Five in a row we've lost or something like that? It's never fun, but it happens.
"Like Donnie said, you can't fold up shop yet. It's not even Mother's Day yet. About two hours. Then we'll see."