Dodgers squander chances in walk-off loss to the Diamondbacks, 2-1

Yasiel Puig jogged the 90 feet from the plate to first base while clutching his bat. He had just grounded out for the final out of the 12th inning, stranding three runners to push the Dodgers’ total on the night to 15. Once he ran through the bag, he completed a gesture that spoke for the rest of his team in a 2-1 loss to Arizona.

Puig yanked his helmet off his head and smashed it with his bat. The frustration was obvious for the Dodgers, who were unable to puncture the threadbare Diamondbacks’ pitching staff. The group managed only one hit in 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“The numbers don’t lie,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “We had opportunities.”

The bullpen could not protect a one-run lead. Kenley Jansen blew his fourth save of the season, forcing the game into extra innings and opening the door for Arizona three innings later.

By then, Roberts had emptied his bullpen. Casey Fien was the sixth reliever he used in the game. Fien had yielded a pair of home runs the night before. In the bottom of the 12th, he surrendered a leadoff triple to Jake Lamb and a walk-off single to Brandon Drury.

Heading into the ninth, the Dodgers (52-41) appeared on the verge of a 1-0 victory. Brandon McCarthy spun a minor gem. In his last outing, McCarthy operated with minimal command of his pitches. At times, he lamented afterward, he felt like he was throwing a football. He experienced a revival on Saturday, scattering three hits and striking out eight Diamondbacks in six scoreless innings.

Adam Liberatore turned in his 25th consecutive scoreless appearance, striking out All-Star Paul Goldschmidt in the process. Joe Blanton left a pair of Diamondbacks on the bases. Then came Jansen, who could not record his 28th save.

The rally by the Diamondbacks started in innocuous fashion. Michael Bourn, the former All-Star outfielder, stroked a one-out single. Jansen did not protest when Bourn stole second base with two outs. The right-hander fed Lamb a cutter at the belt. Lamb rocketed a game-tying double off the left-field wall.

Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb, center, celebrates his game-winning run as Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal walks off the field.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press )

“We expect Kenley to be perfect,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to happen. At some point, you have to tip your hat. Lamb put a good swing on it.”

McCarthy experienced an awkward beginning to his outing. Diamondbacks shortstop Jean Segura fouled McCarthy’s second pitch of the game off the mask of home-plate umpire Dale Scott. The accident forced Scott to leave the game. McCarthy waited nearly 12 minutes between pitches.

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The delay did not appear to affect him. Upon the game’s resumption, McCarthy struck out Bourn and Goldschmidt to end the first inning. He stranded Lamb after a leadoff double in the second. McCarthy allowed a leadoff single by shortstop Nick Ahmed in the third. Then he picked Ahmed off. An inning later, Goldschmidt got caught stealing after a one-out single.

“I was able to stay in the moment and make pitches,” McCarthy said. “I tried not to do too much.”

Facing Chase Utley to start the third inning, Arizona starter Archie Bradley worked the outer half of the strike zone. A 1-2 change-up drifted closer toward the plate. Utley laced a double. Two batters later, Justin Turner floated an opposite-field RBI single into right to give McCarthy a lead.

The advantage nearly evaporated in the fifth. McCarthy flung a 92-mph fastball at the letters to Arizona outfielder Yasmany Tomas. Tomas ripped a drive to center field. Andrew Toles, the rookie outfielder called up just before the All-Star break, backed up toward the wall.

At the base of the wall, Toles leaped and extended his 5-foot-10 frame skyward. A few feet away from him, Puig decided to scale the wall, too. As Puig climbed up the fence, Toles came down with the baseball for the out.

The Dodgers frittered away a cavalcade of opportunities to increase the lead. On three occasions, McCarthy made the last out with runners on base. Howie Kendrick ripped four hits on the evening, but struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh.

The group also made a series of outs on the bases. Puig got thrown out trying to steal second. Scott Van Slyke was picked off first base in the 11th. Corey Seager got caught trying to advance from second to third in the final inning on a grounder to the left side of the infield.

“You never want to feel like you gave a game away,” Roberts said. “But when you have opportunities like that to put a team away, and especially with the performance that Mac gave us tonight, it stings a little bit.”

Follow Andy McCullough on Twitter @McCulloughTimes