It started out so well for Jeff Locke. It didn’t end that way.
Locke, who made easy work of the Chicago Cubs with a nifty seven-pitch first inning, was done after four when the defending World Series champions put the hammer down in an 11-1 victory over the Marlins on Thursday night.
Locke’s outing was yet another signal that the starting rotation for the Marlins remains a soft spot. Projected as a long man out of the bullpen when the Marlins signed the lefty over the winter, Locke (0-3) was thrust into the starting mix the second he came off the disabled list at the beginning of June.