With the chance for a sweep, the Diamondbacks’ offense went quiet on Thursday. For two nights in Anaheim, they had swung the bats the way they thought they should have all season. But they reverted to form in losing, 7-3, to the Los Angeles Angels in the series finale.

The Diamondbacks’ season likely will be defined by that form. The offense started the year flat, perked up briefly, then flatlined again. Understanding why it happened — and what can be done to avoid a similar fate next year — figures to be an offseason focus for the organization.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo wondered on Thursday if something he had emphasized might have contributed to the sluggish start — and, by extension, the disappointing season.

From the moment baseball announced its 60-game season in June, the Diamondbacks began stressing the importance of a fast start. Both Lovullo and General Manager Mike Hazen mentioned it early on during sessions with reporters, and soon enough players at camp began making similar remarks. The message, in so many words, was the same every time: We can’t afford to start slowly.

On Wednesday night, shortstop Nick Ahmed was asked if he thought the club put too much pressure on itself out of the gate. Ahmed normally isn’t hesitant to offer his opinion. On this, he was unusually guarded.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We expected to go out and win every game and do what we could. That’s kind of a tough question to answer.”

Ahmed left it at that. Asked a similar question on Thursday, Lovullo said his messaging might not have been the best approach.

“If I could redo it and go over it again, I probably wouldn’t even mention getting off to a hot start,” Lovullo said. “Look, this is a tough game. There is a lot of pressure these players feel to go out and perform at a very high level. If I’m adding in an extra ingredient, that one’s on me. I would definitely change my tune.”

More than likely, the Diamondbacks’ message to their players was not much different than that of other teams entering the year. Moreover, the Diamondbacks entered the year with a group of position players who were mostly in the prime of their careers, all of whom were coming off strong 2019 seasons, thus making their inability to handle the pressures of this year even more unexpected.

The length of the season seemed to put Lovullo on his heels almost from the beginning. He was quicker to make changes to his lineup. He was quicker to pinch-hit for veterans late in games. He also showed a willingness to juggle roles in the bullpen faster than usual.

In a sport known for its marathon season, the sprint was uncharted waters for everyone.

“I had nothing to compare it to, nothing to work off of,” Lovullo said. “But the players obviously need to go out and respond. And, ultimately, it’s everybody’s responsibility. What’s happened here is everybody’s — I’m not going to say it’s a fault. We went out and played as hard as we could. But the entire group needs to take responsibility for what happened here. It’s not one player’s fault, not one coach’s fault. It’s a group that needs to learn from this and keep moving forward.”

While the Diamondbacks might have things they would like to do over again, the cruel twist is that many of the lessons do not apply to future seasons.

“I’m not sure if there’s anything to learn from it,” Hazen said last week. “I’m not expecting another 60-game season in our lifetime.”

Of course, the pressure of expectations has long since subsided and yet the Diamondbacks’ offense had another of its unproductive days on Thursday. They put the leadoff man aboard in five innings but scored in only one of them. They had eight hits but only two for extra bases, neither of which cleared the fence.

Diamondbacks starter Alex Young was roughed up, allowing six runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings. Right-hander Riley Smith followed him in relief and was solid for five innings, allowing just one run on six hits.

At 19-32, the number of games remaining on the Diamondbacks’ schedule is in the single digits. But that was not something Lovullo wanted to highlight in his postgame comments.

“We’ve just got to keep grinding and keep pounding,” he said. “I don’t want to say that we’ve only got a certain amount of games left. We’ve just got to take care of tomorrow. That’s just all we’re focusing on.”

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.