LOS ANGELES — Out of options in his bullpen, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo turned to his team’s current closer, right-hander Shelby Miller, to hold on to a two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th against the Dodgers.

Miller did not, and the Dodgers rallied for three runs to win 4-3 on Tuesday (May 20) at Dodger Stadium.

Miller didn’t start the season as the closer. But the two pitchers apparently best suited for the role out of spring training are currently on the injured list, A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez. Lovullo had already used four relievers, and although he had two other available arms in the pen, the manager didn’t want to go to either.

Right-hander Ryan Thompson had allowed multiple runs in each of his previous two outings, two here May 19 and three in a 14-12 loss to the Rockies on May 17 in Phoenix. And right-hander Christian Montes de Oca still has yet to pitch since being called up from Triple-A Reno on May 16.

That left Miller (3-1) for a third straight game.

Tommy Edman led off for the Dodgers with a run-scoring double, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked, Mookie Betts flied out but moved Edman to third base, Freddie Freeman received a free pass to first base, Will Smith was hit by a pitch to tie the game at 3 and Max Muncy ended the game with a sacrifice fly.

“Bases loaded, you’ve got to be a little bit more better than that,” Miller said. “Not hit guys and try to execute.”

Miller had to come in to finish a 9-5 win the night before.

“I didn’t throw too many pitches (May 19). You just come in and get one out. But three days in a row is tough, you’ve got to be ready for those moments,” he added.

Lovullo said there was no other consideration to use anyone but a possibly worn-down Miller in that save situation.

“I think it had a big impact on today, having to use him (Miller) to save that game was probably something that added up into what happened tonight,” Lovullo said. “Those are the harsh realities of the game.”

Certainly Miller wasn’t shying away from taking the ball. But the Diamondbacks (26-23) were ever so close to stealing a win against their rivals, even after being no-hit for six innings by Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Gabriel Moreno’s third home run of the season, all against the Dodgers and his second in as many nights, tied the game at 1 in the top of the ninth inning and forced extra innings.

“It’s not easy to hit a home run at that time of night in this ballpark,” Lovullo said.

Then the Diamondbacks took a 3-1 lead on Corbin Carroll’s two-run home run in the top of the 10th to put them on the cusp of sending the NL West-leading Dodgers (30-19) to a fifth straight loss.

The Dodgers managed just seven hits off Diamondbacks pitching. Starter Ryne Nelson allowed only one run on three hits in five innings of work.

Nelson credited his defense and Moreno’s work calling the game in helping him pitch well, and expressed faith that Miller would want the ball 10 times out of 10 in the same situation he faced.

Ketel Marte reached base three times and logged the first Diamondbacks hit of the game leading off the seventh. But Yamamoto was able to work out of a jam, stranding runners at first and third.

The Diamondbacks had an opportunity in the eighth when Geraldo Perdomo doubled just inside the left-field line to open the inning off Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia. Perdomo slid head first, was tagged hard in the head and stayed on the ground in pain. That led to a visit from a trainer.

He remained in the game, and pinch hitter Tim Tawa laid down a bunt for a base hit to put runners at the corners with no outs.

But Vesia got pinch hitter Eugenio Suarez to pop out, then he struck out Carroll. The Dodgers turned to right-hander Ben Casparius after Marte was walked intentionally to load the bases, and Casparius struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. swinging at a low slider to end the inning.

In the top of the ninth, Moreno struck with a high drive to right field off the Dodgers’ Tanner Scott, taking a win from Yamamoto. In the 10th, Carroll took Scott deep. Carroll had earlier been hit in the hand with a pitch and had to be checked by a trainer.

No strikeouts in win for DBacks’ Pfaadt

Brandon Pfaadt won on Monday, May 19, against the Dodgers without striking out a single batter.

That hasn’t happened in one of Pfaadt’s starts since May 10 of last year at Baltimore, when he went six innings without recording a strikeout. He took a loss that day, but gave up three runs in six innings against the Orioles just as he did in L.A.

Of course, the most important thing to Pfaadt was a win for the Diamondbacks.

“One of those oddities,” Pfaadt said. “There were a lot of 3-2 counts, and on a 3-2 count you’ve got to go attack the zone and get after them. We didn’t make some pitches in those 1-2, 2-2 counts to get a strikeout.”

A different Corbin Carroll record

Some time before Monday’s game in L.A., Carroll shared a brief moment with a fan on the field.

She presented Carroll with a red-and-white painted replica LP record featuring artwork of Carroll in the middle of the vinyl disc. Carroll had the piece of art in his stall inside the visitors’ clubhouse.

Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall arranged the meeting between Carroll and the woman who gave him the artwork at Dodger Stadium.

“It was really cool to be able to connect with her and hear her story,” Carroll said. “I think it’s a really cool piece that it ended up being, and I think I’m going to put it up in my house.”

Injury updates from Triple-A

Right-handed pitcher Drey Jameson, who was up in the big league briefly this season, landed on the Reno Aces’ seven-day injured list on May 20 with a lateral elbow injury. Also, catcher Adrian Del Castillo, who was with the Diamondbacks for part of last season, went on a rehab assignment to the Diamondbacks’ Arizona Complex League club at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale.

Coming up

Wednesday, May 21: At Los Angeles, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Corbin Burnes (3-1, 2.56) vs. Dodgers RHP Dustin May (1-4, 4.43).

Thursday, May 22: Off.

Friday, May 23: At St. Louis, 5:15 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (3-5, 5.14) vs. Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (3-2, 3.77).

Saturday, May 24: At St. Louis, 11:15 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-2, 3.26) vs. Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 2.92).

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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