Garcia, who had been 5-0 in his career against Arizona, did not get the many swings and misses his darting offerings generally provide. And his location was sub-par as a Cardinals starter failed to last five innings for the third outing of four.

The Cardinals lost the series two games to one, marking the first time the Diamondbacks even had won a game in St. Louis since former Cardinals manager La Russa took over in Arizona in 2014. The D’backs’ series win was their first over the Cardinals in St. Louis since 2003.

“I pull for them a lot,” La Russa said. “But I don’t have any trouble pulling against them, because we need the wins more than they do.”

Cards manager Mike Matheny, noting that Garcia just didn’t have the movement he normally possesses, said, “That was one of those days he’s going to want to forget. That was a rough go from the start.

“It’s always one of those possibilities for every guy. You don’t have a good feel for the ball; you don’t have a feel for the strike zone. It can happen in a hurry. And it did.”

Garcia offered few excuses.

“I didn’t have my stuff,’’ he said. “I just didn’t get the job done.