PHOENIX – Arizona Diamondbacks point guard Zac Gallen delivered his second consecutive scoreless performance Tuesday, throwing five scoreless innings in a 6-0 win over the Texas Rangers.
Gallen has not allowed an earned run in three of his last four games. Manager Torey Lovullo said before the game he had reason to believe Gallen could use a much-needed run after some inconsistent results over the past few months.
“Solid five innings. They did a good job of blocking the shots in the zone and increasing the number of shots. Hats off to them, but they just tried to go out and give us a chance to win,” Gallen said. “Obviously, I would like to be a little more efficient and get deeper into the game. But I accept it, we won the game.”
He struck out Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi – his opponent in Game 5 of the World Series – who allowed four earned runs in five innings. Christian Walker hit two home runs against Eovaldi in the first three innings and hit a home run against Joc Pederson in the first inning to give Gallen early run support.
Gallen’s performance was not quite perfect, although he allowed only two hits – both singles by Wyatt Langford – and made seven strikeouts.
Zac Gallen, great 89mph slider. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/I3fkv4QvI3
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) 11 September 2024
The right-hander managed five innings of 94 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. A 25-pitch first inning set the tone, although he danced out a couple of baserunners by striking out Nathaniel Lowe.
He managed to get nine full counts and increase his pitch count despite having an 84% strike rate on the first pitch. An increased pitch count also knocked Gallen out of the game last week in San Francisco after six hitless innings.
“I would imagine every team has a general approach against me. I just try to sniff out that approach if it’s a little bit different or whatever, and be able to counter a little earlier in the at-bat or in the outing to make it a little bit more efficient,” Gallen explained.
“These discussions have been going on since spring training,” Lovullo said of Gallen’s five innings. “Let’s pick a few moments where they’re very meaningful innings where you go out again and make it 100-105. We had a depleted bullpen and I told him, ‘This is not one of those moments where we need to pressure you.'”
The Rangers didn’t put many runners on board against Gallen after the first inning (1 of 13) and didn’t hit the ball particularly hard (exit velocity of 82.7 mph).
Gallen feels like he’s getting back into form. He described that rhythm in San Francisco, where he’s in control of the game, the shots are doing what they’re supposed to, and he’s making quality adjustments quickly to roll through lineups.
Lovullo mentioned before the game the possibility of using days off to give Gallen more opportunities to play, and said the club will rely on Gallen and Merrill Kelly to lead the pitching staff.
“They’ve done it before. They know what it’s like to be on the mound and play at a high level in the most critical moments. … So we need them, and they can take on that responsibility,” Lovullo said. “The conversations I’ve had with them show they’re willing to accept that, and they’re taking it on.”
Zac Gallen talks about another good performance and what has worked for him in his last two starts. pic.twitter.com/oQFs1h5YH3
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) 11 September 2024
The Diamondbacks (81-64) used their bullpen with a 4-0 lead to secure the shutout.
Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson and AJ Puk bridged the gap until the ninth inning with three scoreless frames – Puk striking out the team for the second time in his last three appearances.
The D-backs scored two runs in the eighth inning on RBI doubles from Pavin Smith and Jose Herrera, calling on Justin Martinez to end the game. Martinez struck out the final two batters in the ninth inning, 1-2-3.
“It’s as simple as thinking about it, right?” Lovullo said of the win.
Arizona earned its first clean sheet win since July 30 against the Washington Nationals.
Christian Walker hits 2 home runs
Walker continues to tick all the boxes on the field after missing a month with an oblique muscle strain. Two home runs to opposite field and an over-the-shoulder catch were welcome signs.
Arizona’s cleanup hitter had not hit a home run to right field this season.
“Pull-side home runs are great, but the opposite-side approach tells me a really good story,” Lovullo said. “It means your lower half of your body is involved. It’s firing, and that’s what he injured. So if he’s hitting the front, stopping, and then really getting behind the baseball, that tells me the load and the lower half of your body is in a really good spot.”
Walker hit 25 home runs for the fourth time in his career and the third consecutive time. He had not hit a home run in five games since being reinstated before Tuesday.
“Chase is a big park,” Walker said. “Sometimes it feels like you have to squish the ball on the pull side and really hold on to it to get it out. It’s nice to swing a ball cleanly, hit it hard and get rewarded for it. Hopefully it keeps flying like that.”
Next Diamondbacks game
Kelly will start for Arizona on Wednesday during the short break to close out the two-game series against Texas. Rangers left-hander Cody Bradford will likely play on the other side.
First pitch is at 12:40 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
