Zac Gallen, D-backs Succumb to Dodgers' Offensive Juggernaut

Despite a well-played series by the Diamondbacks, they'll have to settle for a split against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

May 11, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks fell to Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers' offensive juggernaut in an 8-1 loss at Chase Field. Los Angeles rapped out 18 hits on the day, including four extra-base hits, while the Diamondbacks' offense struggled. Arizona finishes a hotly-contested series with a series split of four games.

"This was a tough game, this was a tough game to stomach all the way around," said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. "We never really got anything going offensively, the Dodgers seemed like they were playing at a very different pace than we were."

Zac Gallen dealt with a lot of traffic, much of it coming from the top of the Dodgers' lineup. He was able to limit the damage to just one run over the first four innings by getting stingy with runners in scoring position, and he held Los Angeles hitless in their first eight at-bats.

Gallen eventually succumbed to the avalanche of hits in the fifth. Ohtani singled and Mookie Betts doubled to put two in scoring position with no outs. Freddie Freeman drove in the first with a sacrifice fly and Will Smith singled up the middle to turn a 1-0 game into a 3-0 game.

Gallen came out to start the sixth to face the bottom third of the lineup. Once again, the first two hitters collected hits for the Dodgers, although Alek Thomas was able to nab Hyeseong Kim at second on a ball hit toward the gap. Following a strikeout of James Outman, Lovullo handed it to the bullpen with LA's lineup turning over to the fourth time through.

"I thought Zac did a really nice job of keeping us in the game," said Lovullo. "He had really effective stuff, they just kept chipping away at him. We pulled him off the mound, I felt like the matchups were right and it would work out perfectly."

Joe Mantiply was the first to come in, due to his strong track record against the Dodgers' big three. However, that was in the past, and Mantiply failed to keep the Diamondbacks in the game. He hung a breaking ball to Ohtani, who smoked a single to plate the inherited runner.

That closed the book for Gallen, who finished the game with four runs allowed in 5.2 innings. He allowed 10 hits, walked two, and struck out five.

"I felt like I made some good pitches, I felt like they made some good swings, that's what I think it boils down to," Gallen told Arizona Diamondbacks on SI's Jack Sommers. "Overall, I felt pretty good, I had pretty much everything working. Sometimes you got to tip your cap, they put good swings on decent pitches."

In his second inning of work, Mantiply served up a home run to Freeman that landed in the pool. Freeman finished the game with four hits, one day after Arizona snapped his 14-game hitting streak.

For Mantiply, the struggles continued. Sent down to Triple-A after surrendering multiple runs in three straight outings, this one provided little optimism that he has figured out his command issues. He has now allowed runs in five straight appearances and in six of nine on the season.

The continued struggles for Mantiply, combined with another poor outing from fellow left-hander José Castillo, turned a somewhat competitive game into a blowout. Castillo has allowed multiple runs in three of his five appearances.

On the other side, the Diamondbacks had little success putting any offense together against Tony Gonsolin. Gonsolin, who has been unbeaten in eight starts against Arizona coming into this game, limited the opportunities. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, walked two, and struck out four.

For the first six innings of the game, the Diamondbacks failed to reach before making the second out of the frame. That changed in the seventh, when Thomas hit a grounder down the third base line for a single with one out. José Herrera capitalized with a two-out double that put Arizona on the board, but that would be it for Arizona's scoring.

The Diamondbacks go to San Francisco to take on the Giants for a three-game series next. Right-hander Merrill Kelly (3-2, 4.09 ERA) gets the ball for Arizona while Justin Verlander goes for San Francisco. First pitch at Oracle Park is set for 6:45 p.m. MST.