A series split between teams means there were bright spots and lamentable moments, which held true after the Diamondbacks-Dodgers game on Sunday, May 11.

The Dodgers won the series finale, 8-1, to give both teams two wins over the four-game series.

The Diamondbacks (21-20) won the May 8 and May 10 gams, but gained no ground in the National League West Division on the first-place Dodgers. Arizona could have had three wins if not for a blown three-run lead in the ninth inning on May 9.

“We played pretty well,” said Sunday’s starter Zac Gallen, who took Sunday’s loss. “Obviously, the second game, letting that one slip away is kind of tough. And then not being able to win the series (May 11), would have been momentum. It’s a little bit unfortunate. The positives come from setting the tone early in Game 1 and then bouncing back (May 10). But I still think collectively there’s some things we just kind of have to be a little bit better on.”

In the series finale, the Dodgers were able to drive up Gallen’s pitch count and got home runs from Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

Gallen (3-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 5⅔ innings. He threw 97 pitches, struck out five and walked two.

“Felt like I made some good pitches, but they made some good swings,” Gallen said. “Sometimes you’ve got to just tip your cap.”

The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, who entered the game with a .338 all-time batting average against the Diamondbacks, homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs. His home run in the seventh inning was the 27th of his career against Arizona and gave the Dodgers a 5-0 lead.

Freeman’s home run came off Diamondbacks left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply, in his first appearance since he was called back to the majors from Triple-A Reno. Mantiply had not allowed a home run against the Dodgers in his previous 26 appearances against them, dating back to June 20, 2021.

Starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin (2-0) and four relievers limited the Diamondbacks to a run on six hits. The Diamondbacks made it 5-1 after Alek Thomas singled and scored on Jose Herrera’s two-out double to right field in the bottom of the seventh.

Mookie Betts took reliever José Castillo deep in the ninth for a solo home run. A Freeman single, Castillo’s third balk of the day and Will Smith’s double gave the Dodgers their seventh run.

The Diamondbacks bullpen of Mantiply and Castillo gave up four runs on eight hits in 3⅓ innings. Castillo seemed perplexed at being called for back-to-back balks in the eighth inning, then a third one in the ninth.

Manager Torey Lovullo said umpires explained to him that Castillo was coming set more than once and deceiving the runner and the batter. So Lovullo asked the umpires to fully explain to Castillo in English and Spanish what he was doing so as not to make the same mistake.

“I was kind of barking at them that I’ve seen other players do that, I’ve seen things that look very similar to that, that don’t get called,” Lovullo said. “I respect this crew immensely. I’m sure they got it right.”

The bullpen could get a boost soon, with the impending returns of right-handed relievers Kendall Graveman and Justin Martinez from their 15-day injured list stints. Graveman was in the clubhouse on May 11, and Martinez told Lovullo he felt good after his bullpen session before Sunday’s game.

Lovullo called the Dodgers series emotional and exhausting.

“Some (games) were clean by one team and not the other, and some were pitching, some weren’t,” Lovullo said. “That takes its toll on you emotionally.”

Gallen enjoyed the atmosphere of the series, comparing it to being at a Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys NFL rivalry game in Philly.

“This is my seventh year now, so to kind of see the evolution of games being a little bit more full, fans being a little bit more engaged, it was a lot fun,” Gallen said. “Our fans did a really good job of staying in the game, being engaged, matching their (Dodgers fans’) energy and matching their kind of volume.”

The Diamondbacks head to San Francisco Monday for a three-game series against the Giants.

—Jose Romero

Tipping pitches?

Asked if he thought Gallen was tipping pitches with movements that the Dodgers took advantage of, Lovullo said he didn’t feel that way. But he did think that Friday, May 9’s starter, Eduardo Rodriguez, was doing so.

“That’s our job as a staff to pay attention to that,” Lovullo said. “We go back to the drawing board and pay attention to every little move that our pitchers make. They (the Dodgers) were on every pitch that ‘E-Rod’ was throwing.”

Lovullo thought the Dodgers hitters were at one point sitting back and waiting for breaking balls from Gallen, drawing some suspicion.

“He (Gallen) works extremely hard on it, we do. When you do that, you become vulnerable.” Lovullo said. “And when you’re vulnerable, you look weak. So we work really hard on not tipping our pitches.”

Everyday Marte coming soon despite day off

Second baseman Ketel Marte was out of the lineup on May 11, and Lovullo described it as a planned day off as Marte is still a little more than a week removed from coming off the injured list.

But Lovullo said Marte is getting close to the point where he will be playing on a near-everyday basis.

“We’re going to get into a real good rhythm here where he’s eventually going to play six, seven days in a row and then get a day off,” Lovullo said.

Marte did not get the day completely off. He came on as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning in Sunday, May 11’s game and grounded out.

Lovullo said the day off he gave left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. the day before came after Gurriel expressed the need for a rest. Lovullo has been saying since the start of spring training that he wants to be more careful with Gurriel this year. The club believes Gurriel wore down at times last year, causing him to struggle and perhaps leading to a stint on the injured list.

Lovullo said the days off are about maintaining the health of Gurriel’s lower body.

“He’s a big time lower-half hitter and when his base is right his entire swing plane is good,” Lovullo said. “He came into my office, we talked directly and indirectly the other day. He said, ‘I’m getting tired. I’m getting to that point. I’m going to need a day off here pretty soon.’”

Lovullo admitted the timing was not ideal in that it came a day after Gurriel hit a grand slam but felt it was important to keep him strong.

— Nick Piecoro

Coming up

May 12: At San Francisco, 6:45 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-2, 4.09) vs. Giants RHP Justin Verlander (0-2, 4.50).

May 13: At San Francisco, 6:45 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (6-2, 3.28) vs. Giants LHP Robbie Ray (5-0, 2.84).

May 14: At San Francisco, 12:45 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 7.30) vs. Giants RHP Jordan Hicks (1-4, 5.82).