MIAMI -- An all too familiar pattern has developed for the Marlins, and it was more of the same on Wednesday night in a 6-0 loss to the Cubs at Marlins Park. Swept in the three-game set, and shut out for the second straight night, manager Don Mattingly decided it

MIAMI -- An all too familiar pattern has developed for the Marlins, and it was more of the same on Wednesday night in a 6-0 loss to the Cubs at Marlins Park.

Swept in the three-game set, and shut out for the second straight night, manager Don Mattingly decided it was time to air some things out at a team meeting.

“We can't separate ourselves from blaming this group or blaming that group,” Mattingly told reporters. “As a team, we're just going to have to get better or find a way to scratch for runs, and keep runs off the board, and make plays, and make pitches when we need to, and give ourselves more chances to win.”

Wins have been hard to come by, as Miami fell to 4-15, including a 1-5 homestand with three still to play against Washington. During the series with the Cubs, the club scored just two runs and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, while leaving 20 on base.

“I think this is the lowest point that we could reach, to be honest with you,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “We're touching under the water right now. We have an off-day at the right time. We're going home, trying to change the mindset, and walk here in this clubhouse Friday with a different mindset. We have to make things happen, instead of just wait for something magical to happen.”

In terms of scheduling, Mattingly’s first team meeting of the season comes at a good time, since Thursday is a day off before opening a three-game set with the Nationals on Friday at Marlins Park.

“I think that sounds great; it's a good time for an off-day, because things aren't going well,” Mattingly said. “But just because it's an off-day doesn't mean you come back the day after and expect things are all of a sudden different. You've got to make things be different.”

The Marlins’ offensive woes continued, as they’ve been shut out five times and held to one run four more times. So in nine of their 15 losses, they’ve scored one or fewer runs.

“I feel like for me right now, it's all about getting a different mindset when we come to the ballpark,” Rojas said. “It's got to be a battle, instead of waiting until things happen. You can't really ask for the pitchers to throw nine zeros every time. We've got to do our part. Our part is to change the mindset and start being a little more aggressive.”

Starting pitching has been a bright spot.

On Wednesday, Sandy Alcantara ’s stat line didn’t completely tell the story of how the 23-year-old performed.

What the box score didn’t reflect is one run Alcantara yielded in the second inning came when Daniel Descalso slapped a two-out ground ball to a vacated shortstop hole due to an infield shift. The exit velocity on the hit was 76.7 mph with an expected batting average of .250. And two more runs scored in a four-run third inning on Descalso’s double to left. Left fielder Austin Dean struggled with the fly ball that probably should have been caught. The EBA on that hit was .200.

“I had a good read on it at first, and the ball just kept carrying,” Dean said. “I should have had it. Plain and simple, I should have had that ball.”

Alcantara retired the final nine he faced, striking out four of them. Of the 89 pitches he threw, he got 20 swinging strikes, including 10 on 48 sinkers. His sinker averaged 96 mph, and his max velocity of the night on the pitch was 98.6 mph.

The pitching certainly caught Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s attention.

"This team of course is rebuilding, however, their pitching, their arms are as good as we've seen all year. Man for man," Maddon said. "They have a lot to look forward to there. On the field, they're playing their butts off. They have some talent out there, too. Pitching-wise, you don't just sashay through here and beat their pitching. Their pitching is that good."

Joe Frisaro has covered the Marlins for MLB.com since 2002. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro and listen to his podcast.