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D-backs Go For the Series Win Vs. Cardinals Behind Zac Gallen
The Ace of the staff has the chance to get the team back to .500 on Sunday afternoon
The Diamondbacks will go for the series win against the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. The teams split the first two games of the series with St. Louis taking the opener 9-6 and Arizona rebounding with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night.
Pitching Matchup
Zac Gallen, 2-0, 2.25 ERA, 2.00 FIP starts for the D-backs. Manager Torey Lovullo was wearing the Zac Gallen T-Shirt during pregame press interviews this morning. "I wear it every Zac start," Lovullo said. "I always tell him you know you're in the show when your manager wears your pitcher on your start day. I do it for him. It's worked out really well since I started doing it a couple years ago. He's virtually unbeatable at times."
Taken by the Cardinals in the 3rd round of the 2016 draft, Gallen has only made one start against his former organization since joining the Diamondbacks. That came July 26th of last year in a start at Chase Field. It didn't go well, as he took the loss in an 11-5 game, giving up five runs in on seven hits and two homers in 6.1 innings.
He's been on point this year however. In his most recent start he struck out 10 batters without walking a man. His 2.00 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) ranks third in all of MLB.
Miles Mikolas (RHP) 1-1, 4.76 ERA, 4.25 FIP will start for the Cardinals. His numbers are inflated by a poor start to begin the season against the juggernaut Dodgers to begin his season. But he's only given up two runs in each of his last two starts. He went six innings against the Padres on April 2nd, getting the win. In his last start he had a no decision against the Phillies despite going 6.2 innings, but without much run support in a 5-3 loss.
Mikolas has been especially tough against the D-backs in his career, allowing just a 2.10 ERA in 25.1 innings. He last faced the D-backs in 2022 , making two starts and throwing 15.1 innings, giving up just three earned runs for a 1.76 ERA. He allowed just six hits, walked one and struck out 11.
D-backs Lineup
Eugenio Suárez is getting a routine day off. While he started 162 games last year, Lovullo feels that in order to keep Suárez at peak performance throughout the year, it's best to get him a day or two off a month. Jace Peterson will man third base, Blaze Alexander is getting another crack at shortstop and to start against a right-hand pitcher. Despite his challenges on defense Lovullo insists he can't "run away from anybody." It's critical to the team that Alexander plays well at the position until injured starter Geraldo Perdomo comes back from knee surgery
Cardinals Lineup
Most of the Cardinals starters are back in the lineup, although veteran Brandon Crawford is getting a start at shortstop today over rookie Mason Winn. Michael Siani replaces speedster Victor Scott in center field.
