PHOENIX -- The result of the D-backs’ matchup against the Dodgers on Tuesday was an ugly 9-0 loss at Chase Field.

For the second straight night, the D-backs managed just three hits, and they scored just one run in those two games.

• Box score

There was at least one thing to build on, though -- rookie starting pitcher Taylor Clarke.

Yes, Clarke (1-2) took the loss in his home debut, but the 26-year-old right-hander showed some significant growth from his last start against the Rockies on Thursday, when he lasted just two innings and allowed five runs.

Tuesday started off rough for Clarke, as the first two hitters of the game reached and scored when Cody Bellinger hit a one-out triple off the center-field wall.

It was reminiscent of the Rockies’ three-run first against him at Coors Field.

The difference was what came next.

Against the Rockies, Clarke could not settle in, and he allowed two more runs in the second inning before being removed.

That’s what crossed Clarke’s mind as the Dodgers put together their early rally.

“After that first inning, I was kind of hoping it wasn’t another Colorado incident,” Clarke said. “Just kind of, ‘All right, here we go again. Battle through it and try to hold it there.’ Gotta go back and kind of regroup and refocus and stop the bleeding and hold it there.”

And that’s pretty much what Clarke did. He retired the next two hitters after Bellinger to end the first and then put down the Dodgers in order in the second. He would give up an unearned run in the third, but no other damage as he found a way to go five innings despite throwing 30 pitches in the first.

After Clarke was removed from the game, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo could be seen talking with him in the dugout.

“I thought Taylor Clarke did a really good job of managing himself through some really tough situations,” Lovullo said. “I had a brief conversation with him about the presence and his ability to repeat his delivery and throw quality strikes in some pretty difficult circumstances.

“So, I thought there was some pretty good situations for him to learn, and I think he’s going to be better the next time, and that’s really what it’s all about when you’re a rookie pitcher.”

And make no doubt, Clarke’s ability to continue to learn and develop from start to start is a key part to any success the D-backs hope to have this year, because with Zack Godley in the bullpen, Luke Weaver out for a couple of months and Taijuan Walker unable to rejoin the rotation this year, Clarke and fellow rookie Jon Duplantier will be counted on heavily.

“I feel like I kind of got more into a rhythm as the game kind of progressed,” Clarke said. “The first inning, I just didn’t make quite enough pitches, but once the game progressed, I felt a little bit more in sync and was able to attack hitters the way I wanted to.

“I was kind of fortunate to get myself to kind of battle through and get five innings in there. Usually hope to go a little bit deeper in games, but sometimes you have to take what [you can] get.”