Missed opportunities push Diamondbacks to 5th straight loss

PHOENIX – When it rains, it pours.

Just a few hours after putting Ketel Marte on the injured list, the Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the LA Dodgers by a final of 6-4 in 10 innings on Wednesday. That’s the second extra inning loss to LA in as many nights, and Arizona’s 18th loss in the last 20 games.

Making matters worse, the D-backs are now just 1-8 against the one team fans in the Valley want to beat more than anyone else. And their 15-29 overall record is tied for the worst in all of baseball this season.

In other words, things aren’t going so well.

“It’s hard to believe that were on this type of streak over the past 20 days,” Lovello said. “It’s something that you never imagine.”

This one was particularly frustrating, because the Dodgers actually made some mistakes and left the door open. That’s something they rarely do, but Arizona failed to convert those opportunities into a win.

Mookie Betts led off the game with a home run to left, and LA carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the second. Facing Clayton Kershaw, that’s usually too much of a deficit to overcome. But the Diamondbacks made the big lefty work. They were patient at the plate, and managed to manufacture three runs in the bottom half of the inning without really hitting the ball all that hard – all while driving his pitch count up.

After the Dodgers took the lead back in the fourth, Arizona tied things up in the fifth. Problem is, Lovullo’s group could’ve had more. LA made three errors in the inning – two by Betts on one play – but the D-backs couldn’t get Nick Ahmed home from third with just one out. That left things even at 4-4, and it was the last run Arizona scored.

The Dodgers pushed two across the plate in the 10th inning for the win. By the time the game ended, the Diamondbacks were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Taylor Clarke wasn’t dominant by any means, but he gave Arizona a chance. After allowing the two solo homers early, he settled in pretty well and managed to eat some innings – a big plus, considering Lovullo had to use seven relievers on Tuesday.

“A little up and down overall,” Clarke said. “Some good things, some bad things. But just being able to get through six and give us some much-needed innings, I felt good about.”

He carried a 2.91 ERA into this game, and finished the night with a line of four runs allowed on six hits, with five strikeouts over a season-high 6.0 innings. He’s quietly been one of the brighter spots for the Diamondbacks this year, making four starts and six appearances out of the bullpen.

Arizona gets one more shot at the Dodgers in 2020, and it comes Thursday at 6:40 p.m. when Madison Bumgarner will take the mound against Dustin May.

BASE HITS

-Wyatt Mathisen will always be able to tell people he got his first career hit off Kershaw. It came in the second inning, when he chopped the ball down the third base line. He scored his first career run three batters later, when Jon Jay hit a sacrifice fly to right.

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