Diamondbacks Win a Historic Series Against the Mets Behind Zac Gallen

The Arizona Diamondbacks won the series finale against the New York Mets, securing a historic series win. They did so on the back of some dominant starting pitching and a strong bullpen performance, even without their highest leverage arms.

Zac Gallen took the mound for the Diamondbacks on Thursday morning against a red-hot Mets club. Contrary to many of his recent outings, however, things started off well for the Arizona ace. He allowed a single to Pete Alonso in the first, but this would be one of only two knocks against him during this outing.

Kodai Senga for the Mets on the other hand was forced to work through some traffic. A Corbin Carroll single in the first, and a third inning rally to load the bases forced the Japanese phenom to throw many high-intensity pitches, something which the pesky D-backs offense specializes in.

The Diamondbacks scored the game's first run on some familiar chaos. Eugenio Suarez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. kicked things off, reaching base for Alek Thomas, who remains hot. The young center fielder drove a ball into center field, allowing Suarez to score.

In an attempt to nab Lourdes Gurriel Jr. attempting to advance to third, Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil ricocheted the ball off the D-backs' left fielder's shoulder. This allowed Thomas to reach scoring position as well.

Senga's day would end early, as the Diamondbacks continued to battle against him. While he allowed only a single run to score, a wave of long at-bats, walks, and constant traffic on the bases left him with 87 pitches thrown through only four innings.

Meanwhile, Zac Gallen seemed to do the opposite, striking out the side in the fourth inning to keep his pitch count in check.

A walk by Pavin Smith in the fifth and a double by Josh Naylor placed two in scoring position for the Diamondbacks once again. This time, they took advantage, with a sacrifice fly from Suarez plating the game's second run, giving Arizona a 2-0 lead.

The Mets answered back in the sixth inning as their $765 million man came to the plate. Juan Soto's first hit of the series was a blast out towards left field for his first home run at Citi Field in a Mets uniform. While only the second hit against Gallen, this cut the D-backs' lead in half.

The Arizona right-hander would rebound against the next hitter in Pete Alonso, collecting his eighth strikeout of the ballgame. He finished the sixth with no further damage. His final line was 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Gallen's record improved to 2-4 and he lowered his ERA to 4.93.

It didn't take long for a response from the Diamondbacks as former All-Star Geraldo Perdomo belted his fifth home run of the season in the top of the seventh. While it is only the first day of May, he is only one long ball shy of tying a career high as he seems to have unlocked additional power in his bat.

A solid seventh inning of work from Ryan Thompson who was Wednesday night's hero gave way to recently-activated Kevin Ginkel for the eighth. A strikeout of MVP runner-up Fransisco Lindor brought up Soto once again, and things didn't go differently. A second blast from the former Padre brought the score once again to a one run game.

With closer Edwin Diaz warming in the bullpen, New York opted to stick with Reed Garrett, who had already worked an effective inning. This decision came back to bite the Mets as rookie infielder Tim Tawa belted his fifth home run of the season in the top of the eighth, tying Soto in that regard.

In for the save for the Diamondbacks with a hurt and worn-out bullpen was Shelby Miller. The right-hander came in on a non-roster deal during spring training and has been elite to start the season. He is among a small group of relivers who have still yet to allow an earned run.

Miller worked an efficent ninth inning, collecting his first save of the season. They win their first series against the Mets on the road since 2017, handing the Mets their first home series loss of 2025.

The Diamondbacks travel to Philadelphia for a three game weekend series starting on Friday at 3:45 p.m. MST, 6:45 EST. Merrill Kelly will face the red-hot left-hander Jesus Luzardo