Zac Gallen stops D-backs decline with dominant start

Zac Gallen struck out a season-high 11 batters in six dominant innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Francisco Giants 8-2 on Wednesday night, ending a three-game losing streak.

With their lead over the Braves in the NL Wild Card race hanging by a thread, the D-backs desperately needed a strong performance from their best starter. “The Milkman” delivered just that.

Gallen's outing got off to a rocky start, walking a batter in the first inning. He continued to throw more balls than strikes in his first 25 pitches and walked the leadoff hitter in the second inning. That runner scored on a double by Tyler Fitzgerald.

That was all the Giants got from Gallen for the rest of the night, however, as he settled in and attacked the zone. Gallen retired the next 12 batters in a row, striking out seven of them.

Heliot Ramos hit a one-out double in the sixth inning, but Gallen got out of trouble easily by getting a ground out and then striking out Matt Chapman with the last batter he faced.

Not surprisingly, the curveball was most effective for Gallen, as he missed the breaking ball 10 times in 15 at-bats. Torey Lovullo retired him with 97 pitches thrown and 61 strikeouts. His final tally was 6 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks and 11 strikeouts.

Gallen finishes his 2024 regular season with a record of 14-6 and a 3.65 ERA. He threw 148 innings in 28 starts and posted a 3.37 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). He is now ready to start the first game of a Wild Card playoff series should the D-backs make it that far.

The offense picked up momentum in the second inning. Christian Walker opened the scoring with a double. RBI base hits by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno gave the D-backs a 2-0 lead. It would have been much more, but Mike Yastrzemski made a fantastic catch on a line ball thrown into the corner by Corbin Carroll with the bases loaded. The D-backs had to settle for a sacrifice fly and their third run of the inning.

Pavin Smith tied the game with a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the eighth inning, a direct hit into the water. It was Smith's ninth home run of the year and sixth in September.

The D-backs' record is 88-71. The Atlanta Braves, who missed the game because of rain, are 86-71. The Mets are 87-70. Both teams have the tiebreaker advantage over the D-backs, but if the D-backs win their remaining three games against the Padres, they'll be in the playoffs.

Thursday is a rest day. Merrill Kelly starts on Friday against the Padres against left-hander Martin Perez. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m.