The Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Friday, Sept. 4.

The Astros weren't messing around as it only took them three innings to plate a trio of runs.

That said, those were their only three runs of the game, and it was another really solid performance from Merrill Kelly, but the D-backs offense only gave him one run.

That run came in the fourth inning courtesy of a Gabriel Moreno solo home run, but one solo shot wasn't nearly enough to take down an Astros team that now sits at 73-69.

As for the D-backs, they fall to 74-68 and are once again the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card race.

Momentum is a real thing in baseball, but it's clear this team's 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies wasn't enough to get them back on track after a three-game skid.

In total, they haven't only lost four of their last five, but they've dropped seven of their last 13. Having a losing record at this point in the season isn't going to cut it, and the D-backs should know that more than anyone.

In the end, Kelly threw six solid innings of work, but the bottom of the third inning was the difference maker.

Kelly, who is now 9-13 this season, gave up a solo homer to start the inning, and later would allow two straight singles followed by a double and a sacrifice fly that put the Astros ahead 3-0.

Moreno needed just two pitches to get the D-backs on the board in the top of the fourth, but that wasn't going to be enough for a team that recorded just three hits in the contest.

The Diamondbacks struck out an astonishing 13 times in this game, including going down in order, all via strikeout at the hands of August's American League Reliever of the Month, Josh Hader, in the ninth inning.

Hader picked up his 23rd save of the season as the D-backs are once again on the outside looking in for that final NL Wild Card spot.

Three hits simply isn't going to cut it, and while the Astros have been an extremely hot team these past few weeks, there are no excuses with every single game having major implications down the stretch.

Game two will see Brandon Pfaadt try to get the D-backs back on track as he takes on Ethan Pecko, who will be making just his fourth career start.