Dodgers don’t put up much of a fight in a 2-0 loss to Marlins

The Dodgers had not provided their fans with much action, so one of their fans decided to take matters into his hands. He ran onto the outfield, got slammed to the ground by a herd of security guards and got hustled off the field.

Those kinds of episodes never end well for the fan. They are discouraged.

But the properly mannered fans could not be blamed for being discouraged too. By that time, the Dodgers had batted six times, and the number of hits by the home team was the same as the number of fans invading the outfield: one apiece.

The Dodgers finished with two hits Wednesday, and their third consecutive loss to the Miami Marlins, this one 2-0.

The Dodgers were shut out for the first time this season, but they scored three runs or fewer for the 12th time in their 22 games. They have scored the fewest runs of any team in the National League West except the San Diego Padres.

They have scored five runs in the first three games of this series – and Jose Fernandez awaits them in Thursday’s series finale. If they lose, they’ll fall into a first-place tie with the San Francisco Giants.

“You see guys pressing a little bit,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said. “When they’re not falling, you start looking at your last three or four games. Some guys are looking at their averages.

“When you feel like you need to get a hit, it gets tougher. Guys are coming out of the strike zone more than they’re used to.”

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said he did not sense the offense pressing.

“I don’t think so,” Ellis said. “I hope not. We’re at 22 games into this thing.”

The Marlins got 22 outs from Justin Nicolino, the starter they called up from the minor leagues for this game. They needed four pitchers to get the other five outs.

Nicolino carried a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning. He got one out, and then he was out, after 99 pitches.

Marlins Manager Don Mattingly then took the matchup game to the extreme. The Dodgers’ first five batters in the eighth inning each got to face their own personal pitcher.

The results for the first three relievers were the same: one pinch-hitter faced, one batter walked.

Bryan Morris walked Chase Utley. Cody Ege walked Yasmani Grandal. David Phelps walked Joc Pederson.

Phelps gestured to dispute the call after ball four, and matters escalated to where Phelps and Mattingly were ejected by plate umpire Todd Tichenor.

The Marlins’ fifth pitcher of the inning, Jose Urena, inherited a bases-loaded, one-out mess. He got Yasiel Puig to strike out and Adrian Gonzalez to fly out, and the Dodgers got nothing.

They did get a lot from Scott Kazmir, who looked every bit the pitcher the Dodgers believed they had signed — solid, durable, effective.

The left-hander threw 113 pitches, a total he had not exceeded in six years.

The evening started poorly for Kazmir. He gave up singles to four of the first five batters. At that point, the Marlins had a 2-0 lead and he had a 7.45 earned-run average. He did not give up another hit until the fifth inning, and he never did allow another runner past second base.

In all, he pitched six innings, walking one and striking out six, and lowering his ERA to 5.76.

Kazmir, still bothered by soreness at the base of his left thumb and extending into the wrist, did not swing when he batted. He bunted twice, without success.