On a quick, quiet Thursday evening at Fenway Park, Brayan Bello carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

Then, as has happened far too many times in winnable games this year, the Red Sox fell to their opponents.

In front of a sold-out crowd of 36,559, the visitors from Miami completed a series sweep, and only needed two hours and 21 minutes to do so.

Inning after inning, goose eggs went up on Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster scoreboard as the pitchers dueled.

First pitch was at 6:13 p.m., and by 7:20, they’d already played five frames.

By the seventh-inning stretch, Bello was the first Red Sox pitcher to pitch at least seven innings without allowing a hit since Jon Lester’s no-hitter on May 19, 2008.

An impressive achievement, especially for someone so young,

Bello’s bid ended in the eighth inning with back-to-back infield singles to Jean Segura and Joey Wendle. Until that point, he’d been nearly perfect; Jazz Chisholm Jr. reached base on an error by the first baseman in the top of the second, and Jesús Sánchez led off the third with a walk, but otherwise, the Marlins got nothing off the 24-year-old Sox starter.

Alex Verdugo led off the game with a single near the left field corner, and through six innings, it was the only hit of the game. Rafael Devers joined him on the bases by drawing a walk, but the duo were quickly stranded.

The Boston bats proceeded to go 1-2-3 in each of the next five. When they finally reawakened in the bottom of the seventh, Devers and Adam Duvall roped back-to-back one-out singles. It was enough to knock Luzardo out of the game, but as they’d done in the first inning, the Red Sox stranded the pair of runners and came away with nothing.

Bello’s no-hit bid ended minutes later. Like Luzardo the frame before, the young Red Sox starter exited after allowing back-to-back singles and reaching exactly 99 pitches.

Unlike Luzardo, Bello’s bullpen didn’t bail him out. Chris Martin entered and promptly gave up a single to score Segura. In a matter of minutes, the no-hit bid had turned into a losing game.

The usually lights-out Martin proceeded to allow the fourth straight single of the inning to reload the bases. Suddenly and briefly, the Red Sox were in real trouble. But just as quickly, they were out of the jam. A rare third-home-first double play got two outs, and after intentionally walking Luis Arraez, Martin struck out Jorge Soler to end the frame.

Two hours and two minutes after first pitch, Kenley Jansen took the mound for the top of the ninth. He, too, dulled the shine of Bello’s performance. A leadoff single was erased when the pinch-runner was caught stealing second, but Jansen then allowed a solo home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr. to widen the already-insurmountable gap to 2-0.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox went 1-2-3 one more time, sweeping themselves off the field.

“We pitched well, we didn’t hit,” Alex Cora said. “It’s a tough stretch for hitting right now.”

Tough stretch, indeed. The Red Sox were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. They’ve only collected nine extra-base hits in their last eight games; unsurprisingly, they’ve lost seven of them. They’ve been in last place for most of the season, but at least for a while, they had a winning record. Now, they’re 40-42.

“The guys that we’re facing, they’re really good, but we expect to score runs, and we know we’re better,” the manager said.

Actions, or lack thereof, speak louder than words. Over their last eight games, the Red Sox are averaging 1.4 runs per game. As a result, they have their first five-game losing streak of the season.

The Marlins are a legitimate force, but in a season full of unacceptable losses, this one may take the cake because of what the Red Sox had going for them.

Bello is the best homegrown starting pitcher to come out of the farm system in years. Through 13 starts, he owns a rotation-best 3.08 ERA. He’s thrown at least six innings in each of his five starts this month, and allowed just one run in each of his last three (as well as six of his last 11). He’s only the third Red Sox pitcher to make five consecutive quality starts in the last five seasons. His 39 2/3 innings without allowing a home run is the fourth-longest active streak in the Majors.

It’s becoming clearer by the game why Pedro Martinez thinks Bello can be a Cy Young-winner.

But on Thursday night, and until such a time as this team gets its act together, he’s just a wasted talent.