PHOENIX -- Hanser Alberto has raked in his first season with the Orioles, with most of the damage coming against left-handed pitching.

How much has the 26-year-old infielder tormented southpaws this year? Well, he leads the Major Leagues in batting average against lefties, and that success continued Monday night in the Orioles’ series-opening, 6-3 loss to the D-backs at Chase Field.

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Alberto collected three hits against Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray, including a leadoff home run in the fifth inning, his sixth of the year. The right-handed hitter is now batting .409 (52-for-127) against lefties.

“It’s unbelievable,” Orioles right fielder Trey Mancini said. “I’ve hit behind him most of the times we’ve faced [lefties], so I’ve gotten to see firsthand when I’m on deck, and he does such a good job. He never tries to do too much, with two strikes especially, too.

“He’s so impressive at just putting the ball in play. Good things happen when you put the ball in play, and he’s as good as anybody that I’ve seen at doing that.”

In a tough rebuilding year for the O’s, Alberto has been one of the bright spots in their lineup. Ray had success against many of Baltimore’s hitters, striking out 10 over six innings. But Alberto singled in the first and third in addition to his homer.

Alberto credited his success against Ray, and other lefties, to the preparation he puts in before games.

“I’ve been seeing the ball really well against them,” Alberto said. “I think I have a really good plan, and it’s been working a lot against them. … I recognize really well all the pitches. I was ready … and put a really good swing on the ball, and I got a good result.”

Renato Núñez has also had a solid campaign, and he also went deep against Ray in the fifth. His 431-foot blast to left-center field was his team-high 23rd of the season. He had two hits, as did shortstop Richie Martin.

“I thought we swung the bat really well off one of the best left-handed pitchers in the National League,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We squared a lot of balls up.”

However, both of the O’s homers came after a tough start from right-hander Aaron Brooks, who gave up six runs (five earned) on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings. It was his deepest outing since he was claimed off waivers by Baltimore from Oakland on July 6 as he continues to get stretched back out to being a starter.

Brooks threw 73 pitches, his most since a relief outing for Oakland on May 11.

“That’s good for us going forward,” Hyde said. “I just didn’t think he was as sharp tonight, and they came out really aggressive on him.”

The Orioles’ bullpen did a good job of keeping it close. Gabriel Ynoa, Branden Kline (who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after the game) and Miguel Castro combined to toss 4 1/3 scoreless innings. But even with Alberto leading a nine-hit attack for the O’s, the five-run deficit in the fourth was too difficult to overcome.

“It’s tough,” Mancini said. “We did a pretty good job of battling back a little bit, but a lot of times, against a good team like that, it’s tough to overcome a big deficit. But after the first couple innings, I thought everybody played well and settled down and played a good game.”