Zac Gallen Looks to Restore Order for the Diamondbacks Saturday

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs play game two of a three game set at Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon. First pitch is at 11:20 MST, 1:20 CST.

The Cubs beat the D-backs 13-11 in a wild game on Friday that saw the two teams combine for a record 16 runs in the eighth inning, something that had never been seen before in the friendly confines.

Unlike Friday, the wind is not projected to be blowing straight to center field for Saturday's game, and the temperatures will be cold in the mid-to-high 40's.

Pitching Matchup

RHP Zac Gallen, 1-2, 4.64 ERA, 4.30 FIP in 21.1 IP. Gallen has been up and down in four starts so far this year. He has thrown two sub-par outings, one excellent game, and one other solid Quality Start. That included a truncated, four-inning start on Opening Day against the Cubs in which he walked four batters and allowed our runs.

Gallen is used to pitching in cold weather, however, and often excels in that kind of environment. It's also notable that he's allowed just one run in his last 19 innings at Wrigley Field, and that lone run came back in 2022.

RHP Ben Brown, 2-1, 5.09 ERA, 3.94 FIP in 17.2 IP. The 25-year-old was taken by the Phillies in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft. Traded to the Cubs on August 2, 2022 for David Robertson, he made a successful major league debut in 2023, posting a 3.58 ERA and 3.11 FIP in 55.1 innings of work. That including six innings of one run ball against the D-backs April 15, 2024.

Brown's 2025 season had gotten off to of a rocky start, allowing 11 runs, 10 earned in his first 11.2 inning pitched. But he hurled six impressive scoreless innings against the Dodgers on April 12. He did not walk a batter and struck out five. Brown is a two-pitch pitcher, throwing a mid-to-high 90's four-seamer and a terrific knuckle-curve that generates tremendous swing-and-miss rates.

Lineups

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. gets a day off, with Jake McCarthy filling in at the left field position. Tim Tawa is back in at second base. Alek Thomas continues to garner ever-increasing playing in center field and is batting .311 with an .840 OPS.

Miguel Amaya is back behind the dish for the Cubs and John Berti takes over at third base for this game. The rest of the Cubs lineup is the same as Friday.

Bullpens

The Diamondbacks high-leverage bullpen arms all got the day off on Friday, having worked multiple times during the previous few days to secure the sweep against the Miami Marlins. That bit manager Torey Lovullo badly, as he was forced to use low-leverage relievers that could not get the job done.

Expect Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, Shelby Miller, Jalen Beeks, and Ryan Thompson to all be available in this game. In addition there are multiple reports that the Diamondbacks have added three relievers to the clubhouse, including right-handers Juan Morillo, Drey Jameson and J.P. Feyereisen. This has yet to be confirmed by the team as of this writing.

The Diamondbacks have lockers here at Wrigley for pitchers J.P. Feyereisen, Juan Morillo and Drey Jameson. No moves have been announced, but Joe Mantiply and Bryce Jarvis no longer have lockers.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) April 19, 2025

The Cubs used seven pitchers on Friday, but only set up man Porter Hodge, who threw 31 pitches, is likely down for Saturday's contest. The Cubs had an off day Thursday, and did not go to their high leverage relievers on Wednesday.