LOS ANGELES -- There were a couple of bright spots for the Diamondbacks as they packed their bags after being swept in their season-opening three-game series with the Dodgers.
First, they are headed back home, where the joy and good feelings that come with Monday's home opener could help them get their first win of the season.
And secondly, they won't have to see the Dodgers again until June.
"There's things that we did well, there's things that we could have done better," veteran catcher James McCann said. "But can't dwell on three games. Three games out of 162, and we've got to find a way to bounce back. We have an off-day tomorrow and look forward to getting back home and playing in front of our fans."
One of the biggest positives for the Diamondbacks on Saturday was the performance of starter Eduardo Rodriguez. Signed to a four-year, $80 million deal after the 2023 season, Rodriguez was injured for much of his first season in Arizona, and he struggled in 2025.
This spring, though, he pitched well for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, including a clutch performance in the championship game to beat Team USA.
Rodriguez built off that outing Saturday as he allowed just one unearned run over five innings against the potent Dodgers lineup.
That one unearned run, though, left him frustrated after the game because he played a big part in it happening.
Kyle Tucker led off the sixth for the Dodgers with a grounder to first baseman Carlos Santana's right. The ball briefly got away from Santana, but he recovered quickly and flipped to Rodriguez, covering first.
Rodriguez, however, was a step slow getting off the mound, and that proved pivotal as Tucker narrowly beat Rodriguez to the bag. Tucker would later come around to score the Dodgers' first run.
"I stayed for too long on the mound and [Tucker] is running pretty well, and he beat me there," Rodriguez said. "I was so mad because that's a free out and I don't get to the base. So that's what I was so frustrated about."
The Diamondbacks still had the lead in the eighth when a freak play appeared to turn the tide against them.
Reliever Juan Morillo retired the first two batters of the inning with Mookie Betts coming up.
McCann signaled for a curveball, but with the sellout crowd roaring, Morillo heard fastball and uncorked a high heater that sailed past a surprised McCann and hit home plate umpire Jansen Visconti flush in the mask.
It took a few minutes for Visconti to be checked out by the Dodgers team trainer, and when play resumed, Morillo had trouble locating the strike zone, throwing three straight balls to Betts.
Will Smith then stepped to the plate and smashed a 98.1 mph fastball that was at the top of the zone over the wall in center.
Edwin Diaz then retired the Diamondbacks in order in the ninth to finish off the sweep.
"We won a lot of innings of baseball over the course of this three-game series," manager Torey Lovullo said. "Yet we're 0-3, so that's frustrating. It's very frustrating. This was a tough series, no doubt about it. I did not think we would be coming home 0-3, but we are. We've got to understand why it happened, accept why it happened, get better, and get ready for a very, very spirited Monday Opening Day. Our crowd will be waiting for us. We can't wait to come home."