PHOENIX -- Madison Bumgarner has seen a lot of baseball in his 13 years in the big leagues and he's gone through plenty of losing streaks.

This 12-game skid that his D-backs are on after falling 8-6 to the Cardinals on Friday night, though, is the longest he can remember being a part of and as far as solutions go, well, he's at a loss.

"If I knew, I would be spreading the word like wildfire," Bumgarner said. "I don't know. Sometimes stuff just happens. This one is probably the longest one I've been a part of, but I've definitely been a part of a lot of excessive losing streaks, even on World Series winning teams. I mean it is definitely early in the season, and there's a lot of things that can happen, but we got to do something. We've got to find a way. I don't know. I wish I had some kind of an answer or some kind of prophecy, but I got nothing."

Bumgarner didn't have his best command early on as he walked the first two batters he faced leading to a four-run first inning.

The Cardinals tacked on a run in the third and two in the fourth against him before he was removed.

"I didn't think it was Bum's finest day, but he battled and did what he could," manager Torey Lovullo said. "I just think the command of his pitches wasn't what we've seen over the past several outings. I thought he was inconsistent with his fastball, and I think he got into being just fairly predictable with where he was going to be landing pitches and with what pitch he was going to land it."

Like they have done numerous times during the streak, the D-backs battled back and put the tying runs on base in the ninth.

"I mean, it's frustrating, you know, but it's part of the game," catcher Carson Kelly said. "We've got to come back at it. You know, we have another game tomorrow. So we've got to get back and prepare and be ready to go."

Lovullo has spent a lot of time talking with the baseball operations staff, his coaches and players about what has transpired over the past few weeks as the D-backs have dropped 21 of their last 24 games.

It's not a matter of effort or even preparation, Lovullo said, but rather not executing at crucial times.

"To continue giving me the effort that they have been," Lovullo said, when asked what message he has given his team. "But to find focus at the most critical moments and expect to execute at a very high level and make the right choices, and understanding what the game is asking and what you're able to do. The bottom line is to trust your instincts and trust who you are and what you've worked on in your process and land on that. And know that you're ready to go."

Right now, the D-backs are ready for a win in the worst way.