Inside The Diamondbacks

D-backs Offense Wakes up to Support Zac Gallen's Strong Outing

A 9-2 Arizona victory salvages the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles

Jack Sommers

May 12, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) delivers a pitch
May 12, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) delivers a pitch / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Diamondbacks scored a resounding 9-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon behind a strong outing from starter Zac Gallen.

As highlighted in the game preview, Gallen needed to put the team on his back and he did just that, holding the powerful Orioles lineup in check. The D-backs finally broke open a close game with a six run sixth inning, rewarding their Ace starter.

Gallen and Orioles starter Dean Kremer engaged in a pitching duel early on, both throwing no-hit baseball through the first three innings. The D-backs started to peck away in the fourth. Corbin Carroll ripped a double down the line in right and later came in to score on sacrifice fly to the wall in center off the bat of Christian Walker.

Arizona tacked on two more in the fifth. A double from Eugenio Suarez and a single from Kevin Newman followed by a walk to Tucker Barnhart loaded the bases with one out for Corbin Carroll. Carroll hit a chopper towards third and Ramon Urias' throw pulled the catcher off the plate to score the first run of the inning. Ketel Marte's sacrifice fly on a smash to left center extended the D-backs lead to 3-0.

Gallen carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning but it was not to be. Two quick doubles by Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg ended the no-hit bid as well as the shutout. It took Gallen 26 pitches, but he held the score at 3-1 heading to the top of the sixth.

As is so often the case, the D-backs big inning started with a walk. This time it was a one out base on balls issued to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. It was his first walk since April 16th, covering a span of 85 plate appearances. After Kremer recorded his 10th strikeout to get to two outs in the inning, Jake McCarthy followed with a moon shot to right for his first homer of the year.

The D-backs loaded the bases after McCarthy's homer with walks to Kevin Newman and Tucker Barnhart and a hustle infield hit by Carroll. Gunnar Henderson was a little late getting rid of the ball and the D-backs made him pay.

Ketel Marte then extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a two RBI single into right. Pinch Hitter Randall Grichuk followed with a two-run double, bringing the score to 9-1. The D-backs are now tied with the Royals for the most innings with 6+ runs this season with six such occurrences.

Gallen gave up a solo homer to Adley Rutschman in the sixth and then retired the final three batters he faced. His final line was 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. He threw 86 pitches, 54 for strikes. Gallen's fastball velocity was up almost 2 MPH in this one and he generated nine swing and misses with the pitch.

Gallen is now 5-2 with a 2.86 ERA in eight starts. Since 2022 Gallen's 38 starts with 6.0+ innings pitched and 2-or-fewer runs allowed are second most among MLB starting pitchers, behind only Gerrit Cole of the Yankees who has 39. That info courtesy of Shane Phillips of the Diamondbacks Communications team.

Matt Bowman, who hadn't pitched since May 3rd, sandwiched two scoreless frames around a 30 minute rain delay. He had to work around two errors in the 8th inning. Suárez dropped a popup in foul territory and Newman threw wide of first on a routine grounder for the E-6. Non-plussed, Bowman got Ryan Mountcastle looking to end the inning. Justin Martinez threw a scoreless ninth.

The D-backs record improves to 19-22, and now stand two games back in the Wild Card chase. They head home to start a three game series with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. They just swept the Reds three straight earlier this week in Cincinnati. Jordan Montgomery starts for Arizona and Graham Ashcraft will go for the Reds. First pitch is 6:40 P.M.

Here is link to a highlight reel of the game. Happy Mother's Day !

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Jack Sommers

JACK SOMMERS

Jack Sommers is the Publisher for FanNation Inside the Diamondbacks, part of the Sports Illustrated network. Formerly a baseball operations department analyst for the D-backs, Jack also covered the team as a credentialed beat writer for SB Nation and has written for MLB.com and The  Associated Press. Follow Jack on Twitter @shoewizard59