The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a difficult start to the weekend.

After being crushed in their series opener against the Washington Nationals on Friday, 14-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix, the Diamondbacks fell again on Saturday by a score of 6-1. Beyond being outscored 20-2 over the last two games, Arizona has also registered only eight hits while striking out 12 times.

After Saturday’s loss, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talked with the media about his team’s shortcomings.

"I didn't expect that to be the outcome of the game today," Lovullo told the media. "I believe in our offensive approach. I believe in our offensive players. But, you know, I think we're better than two hits. That's for sure. So when you grind down pitchers, when you get in the swing counts, hit good hitting counts, you've got to impact the baseball."

The two hits did not occur until the fifth inning, when designated hitter Pavin Smith hit a leadoff single, and rookie LuJames Groover recorded his first MLB hit in the form of an RBI single to center field to score Smith. At that point, the Diamondbacks only trailed 2-1, but the offense failed to get anything else going.

"You know, put runners on base, that's the name of the game," Lovullo said. "And we just have not had the ability to do that over the past couple of games. And I know it's been more, you know, early in the game,a ten-day stretch where we haven't really got into a good offensive rhythm.

"And when you give up early runs, it takes a little bit of your energy away," he added. "I get that. But I believe enough in this team offensively to be able to overcome any deficit at any time against any type of pitcher. So we're going to coach this up, we're going to talk about it, we're going to make these guys as good as we can possibly make them."

As Lovullo mentioned, the Diamondbacks’ offense has not been in a good rhythm. Over its last five games, Arizona is 1-4. In the first loss in that group of games, the Diamondbacks fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5. Since then, they have not scored more than three runs in a game.

Beyond the back-to-back one-run performances, the Diamondbacks have also endured a shutout loss in that stretch. Ketel Marte, one of the team's offensive catalysts, has struggled through the beginning days of June, as he is hitting just .105. Corbin Carroll has also struggled recently, going 0-for-6 in his last two games.

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