The home field didn't provide much of an advantage for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who gave up the edge they gained in Texas over the weekend with a 3-1 loss to the Rangers last night in Game 3 of the World Series.

The big picture: The Rangers now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against the D-Backs, leaving them two wins away from their first World Series title in franchise history.

• Arizona will host Games 4 and 5 tonight and tomorrow, then the series goes back to Texas for Games 6 and 7, if necessary.
• Last night's loss ensures the D-Backs can't win the series without beating the Rangers on their home field at least once more.

What's next: Game 4 begins at 5:03pm on Fox.

• Left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply will start Game 4 in a "bullpen game." He also started Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, pitching one scoreless inning before turning over the game to the rest of the bullpen.

What happened: Arizona struggled offensively all night.

• Christian Walker got called out at home in the bottom of the second after missing a signal from the third base coach, who'd previously been waving him on, to stop at third.
• The Rangers' offense came alive in the top of the third, with Marcus Semien putting the game's first run on the board with an RBI single, followed by a two-run homer from Corey Seager.
• Geraldo Perdomo hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, but the top of the D-Backs' order couldn't keep the rally going.

1 big record: Second baseman Ketel Marte hit a single in the sixth inning to extend his record 19-game postseason hit streak.

The intrigue: Catcher Gabriel Moreno thought he drew ball four on a 3-1 count in the bottom of the ninth, but the umpire called it a strike and he eventually grounded out for the first out of the final inning.

More on the game

Some of the best-captured images of midcentury Phoenix can be found in an unlikely place — Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho."

Catch up quick: The opening sequence of the nightmare-fueling film was shot in downtown Phoenix. A camera pan of the 1960s skyline includes shots of the Security Building, the Hotel San Carlos and the Luhrs Building.

• And who can forget the slow zoom into the fourth floor of the Jefferson Hotel (now called the Barrister Place Building), where Marion Crane has a lunchtime tryst with her boyfriend before embezzling from her employer and fleeing Phoenix?

Zoom in: Valley historian Douglas Towne tells Axios Phoenix almost all of the buildings in the movie remain standing, but they are sometimes hard to spot because of the taller structures that have risen around them.

The intrigue: No one is entirely sure why Phoenix was picked as the backdrop for the iconic movie's introduction, but local film guru Steve Weiss in a 2020 history column surmised that the Valley's sunny ambience juxtaposed nicely against the dark plot.

• "It's always that great contradiction of wonderful weather and tragic outcome," he said.

No, that's not the Westward Ho

Bats have a spooky reputation, but we really should be more appreciative of the lesser long-nosed species found in parts of Arizona.

State of play: Nicknamed "tequila bats," these critters are an important pollinator of agaves, the plant used to make tequila and mezcal.

How it works: These bats use their long tongues to retrieve the nectar from agave plants. They get pollen all over their fur and face in the process, allowing them to pollinate the next plant they stop at for a feast.

Driving the news: Northern Arizona University ecology and genetics professor Faith Walker has developed a DNA tracking technique that allows her team to trail and protect tequila bats and other nectar-feeding bats during their migration cycle in Arizona.

Between the lines: Walker hypothesized that the bats likely leave some of their DNA behind on the plants during the feeding process. She began working with Bat Conservation International about two years ago to collect agave samples and was able to extract bat cells to create a tracking system of the bats' migration corridors.

Protecting an endangered species

💰 Many Arizonans with children will soon receive tax credits of $250 for kids under age 17 and $100 for kids 17 and older. (12 News)

🏢 Mesa is considering a plan to build 1,000 townhomes and apartments, along with ample commercial space, on a 25-acre site north of downtown that was razed in the 1990s for an entertainment district that was never built. (AZcentral)

🎤 New Kids on the Block will perform at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on July 9 as part of their Magic Summer Tour. (Phoenix New Times)

🏘 The LDS Church plans to build a gated rental community with 320 units in Queen Creek. (Phoenix Business Journal)

💼 See who's hiring around the city.

1. Workforce Development Specialist at Fresh Start.
2. Business Development Associate at Square.
3. Senior People Business Partner at Coursera.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Use code FIRST50 for $50 off your first job post.

👋 Jessica here! The haunted mining towns of Jerome and Bisbee get all the paranormal attention, but I picked up a book called "Haunted Arizona" by Charles Stanfield Jr. last week and learned about a few ghosts believed to bedevil the Valley.

🏰 Mystery Castle ghost

A little girl is said to haunt this bizarre castle made of stones and scavenged trash near South Mountain.

• The structure was built by Boyce Luther Gulley for his daughter Mary Lou. Gulley fled Seattle for Arizona in 1929 after developing tuberculosis. He left his wife and daughter behind in fear of infecting them. Mary Lou didn't see the castle until after Gulley died.
• Her ghost is said to roam the structure to this day looking for her father and trying to hold the hand of male visitors.

2 more ghost stories