Facing the potential of a four-game sweep and a fifth straight loss, Merrill Kelly did exactly what the D-backs needed him to do on Thursday night. Twirling seven innings of three-run ball, Kelly struck out a career-high 12 batters, and kept the D-backs in the game late.

The D-backs’ bats, however, could not support Kelly as they lost the game, 3-2, to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

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“Disappointing, honestly,” Kelly said. “Coming into the night, lost the first three, big-time game to try to get at least one out of this series. I was happy with how I felt, but, obviously, [I am] disappointed in the result.”

Kelly gave up a two-run home run to Albert Pujols in the second inning on a 90.9 mph cutter tailing outside the zone, but afterwards, he was able to find his rhythm and keep the Dodgers at bay.

With the pitcher’s spot due up in the seventh inning, manager Torey Lovullo opted to let Kelly bat for himself as the D-backs went down in order.

“We talked about it,” Lovullo said. “I told him ‘Somebody’s on, I'm going to pinch-hit for you. If nobody's on, we're going to give you an opportunity to go out and win a baseball game.’”

In the bottom half of the frame. Kelly promptly surrendered a leadoff homer to Will Smith to break the 2-2 tie, which, ultimately, served as the deciding run.

“It didn't look great,” Lovullo said. “It didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, but I felt like he showed me enough that he deserved to go back out there. And he got three outs after the solo home run, which was just a mistake in the wrong part of the plate.”

Kelly, who missed much of 2020 following a procedure to remove a blood clot from his pitching shoulder in late August, said Thursday’s start was the closest he felt to his breakout season prior to the procedure.

Ultimately, however, the loss took any enjoyment out of the personal achievements accomplished.

“I was happy with the way I threw,” Kelly said. “I kept the team in the game, but obviously, that one pitch was the difference in the game. As a competitor, this is what we do, the goal is to go out and win every day.

“The 12 strikeouts is great, the seven innings is great for personal reasons, but, at the end of the day, the goal is to get the ‘W’ for the team and it's just too bad that it didn't turn out that way tonight.”

For the second consecutive night, Eduardo Escobar served as the D-backs’ only form of run support. His two-run home run in the sixth inning tied the game 2-2, and he later added a single, which was his 900th career hit. He also hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s loss.

“I had the opportunity to tie the game,” Escobar said. “I’m going to home plate and being aggressive. … I got good contact and tied the game in [that] moment.”

The D-backs managed to score just six runs across the four-game series, being outscored 19-6. They now have lost eight of the past nine games.

“We have to find a way out of it,” Lovullo said, “and nobody's going to feel sorry for us. Nobody's going to do it but us. And when that day happens, we're going to know, and there’s going to be a transition to what gets this offense moving in the right direction.”

The activation of Ketel Marte off the injured list and addition of Josh Reddick should help assuage some of the offensive woes. However, several key talents still remain on the injured list, including outfielder Kole Calhoun and infielders Asdrubal Cabrera and Christian Walker.

“This is a really, really tough moment for everybody on this team right now,” Escobar said. “It’s hard when you lose five of your best players. It’s really hard.”

Escobar, however, believes that the 26 players currently on the D-backs’ roster are the best the team has.

“I know [we lost] a lot of games,” Escobar said. “I still believe in my team. I still believe in my guys. I still fight for my team. I still fight for my manager, for my coaches.

“Right now, it’s not a good moment for everybody, but, hopefully, soon a good moment will be coming, for sure.”