Remember the kid who got sent to remedial math in high school after one too many F-minuses?

Well, that was Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco after the last night's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, which his team lost 15-2.

The Marlins' opening-day starter, a 15-game winner last year, has an ERA of 9.07 and will be headed to Triple-A New Orleans.

"We've got to get him fixed," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That's why we're making the move down there - get him a couple of starts, and whatever it takes to get him straightened out."

Over on the other side, however, Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine allowed only five baserunners and one run in six innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays had three homers among their 17 hits.

The Rays scored eight runs in the first two innings off Ricky Nolasco. They batted around in the second inning and again in the third to take a 13-0 lead.

By the third inning, every Rays starter had a hit. By the sixth, manager Joe Maddon had four reserves in the game. By the ninth, Marlins outfielder Ross Gload was on the mound.

"I know the Marlins' bullpen has been a little bit tired," Maddon said. "That's why it's so important to do what we did to keep them tired. You want to see a bullpen, and you want to see a lot of them."

For Florida, it was a sour start to the annual intrastate Citrus Series. After three innings the Marlins had thrown 119 pitches, and they finished with 225, allowing nine walks.

Tampa Bay's 15 runs matched a season high and were the most allowed by Florida this year.

Nolasco pitched on three days' rest for the first time in his career, and the result was his briefest stint as a starter since Aug. 25, 2006.

"I asked him if the ball is going where he wants it to go, and he said, 'Sometimes,'" Gonzalez said. "That's not the answer you want to hear. He's healthy, his miles-per-hour are good. Maybe it's something mechanical. He needs to get a little confidence back."

While Nolasco is in the slow kids class, the Marlins will turn to a minor leaguer for help Saturday, when left-hander Sean West will be selected from Double-A Jacksonville to make major league debut.

The Marlins will also recall right-hander Chris Leroux from Jacksonville. Reliever David Davidson, who gave up five runs in the third inning, was designated for assignment.