Gallen Throws Six Scoreless in D-backs Third Straight Win
The Diamondbacks won their third straight game, defeating the Colorado Rockies 5-1 at Chase Field. Zac Gallen fired six scoreless innings and the offense put consistent pressure on Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, with four stolen bases and three home runs.
Gallen looked shaky in his first three innings, falling behind hitters but was able to pitch out of jams with some help from his defense. Gabriel Moreno made a key block one pitch ahead of an inning-ending double play in the first, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made a couple impressive catches in the second, and in the third Corbin Carroll and Jake McCarthy made some impressive running grabs.
"First inning, I didn't feel super sharp but just tried to get better as the game was going on" said Gallen. "We were up early, so I'm just trying to keep putting zeros on the board."
Then in the fourth inning, as if a light switch flipped on, he started jumping ahead of hitters with first-pitch strikes to nine of the final 11 hitters. During that stretch, he struck out six and generated 11 swings and misses. Gallen attributed that to having better fastball command in those innings. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo expressed similar statements.
"From where I was at, he had a game plan and then made a tiny adjustment to it and got a really good feel for his curveball" said Lovullo. "So I think it was fastball command and then the swing-and-miss curveball. There was a swing-and-miss curveball to a left-handed hitter, I think it might have been [Nolan] Jones, and then several followed for the next couple innings. That got him in a good rhythm."
Arizona jumped out to a quick 3-0 in the first with home runs from Ketel Marte and Evan Longoria. Marte lined a ball off the left field pole to put Arizona on the board and extend his on-base streak to 28 consecutive games. Longoria, who came into play hitting .280 with three home runs and an .866 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season, connected for a 452 foot blast onto the concourse in left center.
"It's about little things like Longoria, who doesn't play every day, prepping, jumping on a 3-1 fastball and hitting it 450 feet that pads our lead" said Lovullo. "That speaks to me about putting his ego aside and the readiness that we talk about and going out and executing on a high level when it's needed."
Corbin Carroll had another all-around tremendous game. He used his speed to take advantage of a leadoff walk in the fourth, stealing second and third on consecutive pitches, to manufacture a run on a Gabriel Moreno sacrifice fly. In the sixth, he flexed the power with a line drive home run to right off Freeland. He also made some nice running catches in the outfield, tracking down back-to-back liners in the third to keep the Rockies off the board after a leadoff double.
With a 5-0 lead after six innings, Lovullo decided to pull the plug on Gallen after 90 pitches. Scott McGough, who has allowed only one earned run with 15 strikeouts in his last nine appearances, pitched two scoreless innings and struck out four. He was able to spot his fastball and execute his slider and splitter to keep the Rockies guessing.
"We're learning about him as he's learning about the league" said Lovullo. "We're able to fill in some gaps, make some adjustments, maybe different pitch selection in different times. As he's learning what it takes to get some quick, easy outs. He's been on a good run, he's a counted on reliever for us."
Arizona now sits at 32-23, one game back of the Dodgers in the loss column for the National League West division lead. Tomorrow they will go for their fourth win in a row and a series win against the Colorado Rockies. The D-backs will send left-hander Tommy Henry (2-1, 4.50 ERA) against Dinelson Lamet (0-1, 12.66 ERA), with first pitch at 6:40 PM MST.
