Posted on Thu, Jul. 26, 2012

On a day when Hanley Ramirez was shipped off to the West Coast and Ozzie Guillen turned in a lineup card featuring only three of the eight position players he started on Opening Day, the Marlins still somehow found another noteworthy way to lose a game.

They drew seven walks, stole seven bases and still produced just one run in a 7-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon in front of a record crowd of 36,711 at Marlins Park.

The last time a team stole that many bases and scored just once? The 1914 St. Louis Browns, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Sometimes you think about it and you shake your head. How can that happen?" a befuddled Ozzie Guillen said after his team finished 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and matched a season-high with 14 strikeouts at the plate.

“It’s amazing what we’ve seen this year — how we do stuff and don’t get it done.’’

A pair of Justin Ruggiano doubles — including one that drove in a run in the third inning off Braves starter Tommy Hanson — and a leadoff double by Jose Reyes in the first were the only hits the Marlins (45-53) could produce.

The Braves (54-44), meanwhile, teed off on Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco, who gave up six runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. Nolasco is now 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA against the Braves this season.

Atlanta homered three times. Juan Francisco belted a 435-foot, two-run shot off Nolasco into the upper deck in right field in the third to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. Michael Bourn crushed another two-run home run off Nolasco to make it 5-1 in the fifth before Francisco’s RBI single an inning later finally chased Nolasco.

“I felt pretty good, started off decent,’’ Nolasco said. “I made two mistakes — gave up two two-run homers, and it cost me the game. Two balls that came back over the plate. ... They’re not going to miss those pitches too often in the big leagues.’’

The Marlins, who have struggled all season to drive in runners in scoring position, left eight on base in the loss. Guillen said aggressive base running will have to be the team’s plan of attack moving forward.

“We need to step it up with runners in scoring position,’’ Ruggiano said. “... As a team we have to make a better effort and maybe focus a little more. It’s time for it to stop being the plague of the Marlins right now because it’s all we hear about."

• All-Star right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, returning from arthroscopic knee surgery, said Wednesday he’s still on track to return to game action in two weeks. Stanton said he began jogging on Tuesday.

Coming up

•  Thursday: Off.

•  Friday: Marlins RHP Carlos Zambrano (5-8, 4.42 ERA) vs. San Diego Padres RHP Kip Wells (1-3, 4.00), 7:10 p.m., Marlins Park.