MIAMI -- If this proved to be Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez’s last start for a while, what a way to end his first half.

Pérez surrendered just one run over six innings as the tough-luck loser in a 3-0 defeat to the Cardinals on Thursday night at loanDepot park. Miami left 10 on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, as the club was unable to finish off the four-game series sweep.

Think of all Pérez has experienced in the past four months: He began his second straight season at Double-A Pensacola, left his teenage years behind, rose the ranks to become the top pitching prospect in baseball, made his Major League debut and graduated from prospect status. His 1.34 ERA through his first nine starts landed him on the same lists as phenoms Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden.

“Every experience, every batter I face is a memory for me,” Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “It's something I'm going to remember all the time. The experience with the players is something that I will always take. I have that mentality of ‘just keep going.’ I don't know if they're going to stop me now or when it's going to happen, but my mentality is to continue working hard and be ready to help this team in any way I can.”

The 20-year-old Pérez already has surpassed his single-season high for innings (84 1/3) between his time in Double-A and in the Majors. With the All-Star break beginning on Monday, the Marlins may shut down Pérez in order to make him available later on for a playoff chase. Regardless of what Miami chooses to do, it will be a tough decision considering how dominant he has been.

Here’s an abbreviated version of Pérez’s superlatives
• A 2.36 ERA through his first 11 career starts (minimum 50 innings) is the lowest for a pitcher 20 years old or younger in the Live Ball Era
• Youngest player (20 years and 71 days old) since at least 1901 to record three consecutive scoreless outings of six-plus innings
• Five-plus innings of one or no runs in eight of his first 11 career starts -- the most for any pitcher among pitchers to debut since at least 1901

Though Pérez didn’t have his best command on Thursday, walking two batters and hitting another, he allowed just one run, the lone blemish a two-out solo homer from Nolan Arenado in the sixth. Arenado lined a 2-1 slider at the bottom of the zone over the right-center wall.

"The [Pérez] guy is super talented,” Arenado said. “All their arms, really -- and we didn't even face Sandy [Alcantara]. [Jesús] Luzardo has a great arm, Braxton Garrett is really solid. The guy we hit hard is solid, and they're all having good years. Pérez has got a plus everything, and he really made it tough for us. I got a little lucky against him, and I'm happy that ball went out."

The series finale presented Pérez with a new challenge: his first chance to bounce back on the Major League mound. On Saturday in Atlanta, he was tagged for seven runs and recorded just one out against the Braves. Pérez became the second pitcher in franchise history to allow six or more earned runs and get one or fewer outs in a start, joining Carl Pavano (June 27, 2003).

How did Pérez use that time in between starts? And what did he learn from the struggles? Pérez worked on elevating his fastball even more to help his changeup and slider play in the lower quadrants. He saw immediate results, with six of his seven strikeouts vs. the Cards coming on the slider, which entered with a 42.6% whiff rate.

“That's who he is,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “That's why we're so impressed by the mental side of Eury Pérez and what he does in-between starts. And it's a credit to the pitching staff around him, helping him out with the in-between stuff of the video work and the bullpens and the throwing program and our pitching -- Minor League guys to the big league guys -- [that] really helped him out. We've said it before, that he's kind of the unicorn, and he doesn't look like he's 20 with his demeanor. 

“He's had to get guys on base, second base a couple of times tonight. You wouldn't know that those were big situations by the way he was acting on the mound. You kind of watch the body language and he looks like an ace no matter what the situation is, and it's just really impressive.”