PHOENIX -- Once again, the D-backs threatened until the final out. Rarely have they gone quietly this season, and Wednesday night's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers was no exception.
"We kind of have that feel about us," D-backs catcher John Ryan Murphy said. "We never feel like we're out of a game. Certainly not a 1-0 or 2-0 game."
The D-backs had the tying run on second base in the bottom of the ninth inning against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. They had just scored their first run on Murphy's RBI single that brought home Daniel Descalso, who drew a pinch-hit, two-out walk.

However, Alex Avila flied out to left to end the game, and the D-backs missed out on a chance to win their 10th consecutive series.
But in just their ninth loss of the season, the D-backs showed why they're so difficult to beat.
"We're going to play nine innings, and you're going to have to play a pretty good nine innings to beat us," Murphy said.
They stayed in the game thanks to starter Zack Godley, who gave up one run over six innings. But they missed out on some key offensive opportunities.
The D-backs were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They left the bases loaded in the fourth inning and stranded runners on the corners in the eighth.
In the eighth, A.J. Pollock smoked a ball to short, only to have Enrique Hernandez slide, pick it off the ground and start an inning-ending double play.

"It's probably one of the hardest things to do in baseball," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of hitting with runners in scoring position. "You're fighting for the same turf. The pitcher is trying to protect it, the hitter is trying to execute and it's what makes baseball so great."
The good news for the D-backs is that they're 21-9, five games ahead of the second-place Rockies in the National League West and eight in front of the Dodgers. They also haven't lost back-to-back games this season.
If they continue that trend Thursday, they'll be closing in on history. The D-backs can win their 10th consecutive series to open the season. The only team to open a year with more is the 1907 Cubs, who won 11 straight.
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Godley escapes jams: Godley had already allowed a run in the first, and he was in trouble with runners on the corners and one out. But he rolled an inning-ending double play to limit further damage. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, keeping the deficit at 1-0, when he got Alex Verdugo to ground into a double play.
"I did enough to get some ground balls, some huge double plays," Godley said. "I just came up with pitches when I needed to."

SOUND SMART
Pollock, who was named the National League Player of the Month for April, has done a lot of damage against the Dodgers. He has 11 hits against them this season -- six home runs, four doubles and one single.
HE SAID IT
"The concern is minimal for me, because I know these guys talk about it, they apply it, they're aware of it and they're trying to execute." -- Lovullo, on if he's concerned about his team's issues with runners in scoring position
UP NEXT
In the 12:40 p.m. MST series finale, live exclusively on Facebook, left-hander Patrick Corbin will start for the D-backs. Corbin allowed three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and a walk over 6 2/3 innings in his last start against the Nationals. Alex Wood will start for the Dodgers, seeking his first win of the season.