Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen Finally Overcomes Disturbing Trend

The Arizona Diamondbacks' former ace was sharp against the team that had beat up on him all season.

Aug 8, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) pitches for the start of a game against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen has not been his usual ace self in 2025. But perhaps one of the most concerning trends of the season was his inability to set down one of MLB's lowliest clubs.

That changed in a major way Friday night, as Gallen pitched the D-backs to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies in front of the Chase Field home crowd.

The Diamondbacks improve to 55-61, while the Rockies plummet further, dropping to 30-85. It was a refreshingly drama-free game, in which Arizona held the lead for eight innings and never relinquished it.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen Dominates Rockies

In his previous two outings against the Rockies, Gallen had been completely lost for answers. In 10 innings over two starts, he'd surrendered six and seven runs respectively, giving up 18 hits while striking out 10.

On Friday, Gallen looked much more proficient. In his second-straight Quality Start since the Trade Deadline, the right-hander tossed six innings of one-run baseball, allowing just four hits and punching out six.

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Though he had to work around a pair of baserunners in the first, throwing over 20 pitches, a sliding catch by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. kept Colorado off the board.

Gallen would go on to give up a double and single in the second, allowing the Rockies to plate their first and only run. But from there, Gallen settled in, retiring 13 of the next 16 batters. After an eight-pitch battle with two outs in the sixth, another excellent catch by Gurriel punctuated Gallen's night.

"For us to bounce back... to be able to come in here and set the tone for this series, it's good. I think we played really well, did everything we needed to do to win a baseball game," Gallen said postgame.

"I felt like we were establishing the inner half and kind of opened up away if we needed to, or spin. They had a hard time laying off the sinker. So we kept going in there and taking weak contact, taking outs."

Manager Torey Lovullo had praise for his pitcher.

"I think Zac went out there and set a really good tone for us today. ... I thought he was in command, and started to work counts a little bit.

"I think there were six 3-2 counts. But he managed to work through those and started to get into a little bit of a rhythm and make pitches when he had to," Lovullo said.

Kendall Graveman and Andrew Saalfrank both tossed scoreless innings. Right-hander Casey Kelly picked up a ground ball double play to close the ninth in scoreless fashion.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Offense Gets Started Early

A D-backs' offense that has been anything but consistent of late got to work right away against Rockies' left-hander Austin Gomber. Arizona loaded the bases in the first inning with two singles and a walk.

With two outs, Blaze Alexander cleared the bases for a 3-0 lead, shooting a double down the left field line.

"We built that inning and he cashed in for us," Lovullo said. "He picked up his teammate. We talk about that all the time. ... The job was not done and he took care of it on his own."

Alexander would tack on another run in the fourth, crushing an opposite-field solo homer for a 4-1 lead. He finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and a hit-by-pitch.

One inning later, Marte walked, setting up Corbin Carroll's 24th blast of the season. Carroll's two-run shot traveled 110 MPH off the bat. Carroll has homered in back-to-back games, and has surpassed his 2024 total by two already.