PHOENIX -- If you were a Diamondbacks fan, there was a lot to like about Tuesday night's game against the Dodgers.
Everything, that is, except the final result.
After digging themselves an early four-run hole, the Diamondbacks came back and gave the Dodgers everything they could handle before falling, 6-5.
"It was a great fight by us to make it interesting," veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "We did a great job there, making it interesting. Tough to not come out with the win, but it was a good fight."
And that probably is the biggest takeaway from the night: You might beat the Diamondbacks, but they aren't going to make it easy on you.
Arizona fell behind early as Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer three batters into the game, and one inning later, Shohei Ohtani tripled home a pair of runs to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead.
The Diamondbacks managed to cut the deficit in half as the game wore on, but the Dodgers looked like they had taken control of the game with a two-run seventh inning.
One night after beating the Dodgers in the series opener, the Diamondbacks refused to go away, and in the seventh, they took advantage when a pair of Dodgers relievers lost the feel for the strike zone. Kyle Hurt and Will Klein combined to walk four during the inning, including Klein forcing in a run with a free pass.
Nolan Arenado delivered the key blow of the inning, a two-run double to left.
"Nolan got that big hit that got us right back in the game, and we just kept grinding at it, grinding away at it," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.
It looked like the Diamondbacks might tie the game or even take the lead in the eighth when they put a pair of runners on with one out, but Arenado, who had come up clutch the inning before, grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the ninth, after closer Tanner Scott struck out Ryan Waldschmidt to open the inning, Ildemaro Vargas blooped a base hit to right and Arizona was still alive.
Geraldo Perdomo tried to bunt for a hit, but bunted it back to the pitcher's mound and was thrown out at first for the second out of the inning.
"We made a ballgame of it," Lovullo said. "And I keep learning something about this team every single day. They're engaged, they're passionate, they want to win, and they're going to fight you every inch. That's D-backs baseball. We just came [up] a little short."
The intensity on the field was matched by the crowd of over 30,000, probably split down the middle between the two teams.
"It was awesome," starter Michael Soroka said. "I've always said when we pack this place, it's a great environment. Once you get used to being in a big league stadium, it feels amazing when it's full. So, yeah, love when they come out, and even if it's a lot of people cheering for the other team, it doesn't matter, I love it all. The fans are a big part of this game, and a big part of why I get up to play it."