Zac Gallen's Quest to Rebuild Value Starts in Sacramento vs Athletics

The road back for the former ace of the Arizona Diamondbacks' staff needs to start Saturday.

Jul 1, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost six in a row, and nine of their last 10. They'll try to break that streak behind Zac Gallen, who starts against the Athletics Saturday night. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. MST.

The offense was quiet once again, failing to score until the seventh inning on Friday night in a 5-1 loss. They've scored just 14 runs in total during this 10-game stretch.

Gallen is going to need more run support than that.

Diamondbacks and Athletics Starting Pitching Matchup

Zac Gallen and J.T. Ginn pitching stats | Jack Sommers

Zac Gallen has pitched well against the Athletics in his career, allowing just two runs in 17 innings while striking out 23. Perhaps some of that past success will give him confidence to attack the strike zone and hit lines on the edges.

Related Content: Diamondbacks GM Explains Not Trading Zac Gallen at Deadline

The only current player on the A's roster that has more than four PA against Gallen is infielder Luis Urias. The lack of familiarity may be another thing that plays in Gallen's favor.

However he does it, his team needs him to step up and play stopper, something he hasn't been able to for a long time.

It's a mystery why Gallen has fallen on such hard times this year. His fastball velocity is down only 0.6 MPH from last year, and exactly the same as it was during his hey day in 2022 and 2023.

Gallen got swings on pitches out of the zone 34% of the time during his peak in 2022. That number is down to 29% this year, as many of those pitches out of the zone are non-competitive. He's just not fooling hitters like before.

Contact inside the zone has increased from 87% to 90%, and the hard hit rate has gone from 29% to 37%. All of these underlying metrics point towards the obvious increase in runs, hits, and homers allowed.

J.T. Ginn is mostly a sinker/slider pitcher, with the occasional curve and changeup mixed in. The slider is by far his best pitch in terms of expected batting average (.212) and WHIFF rate (32%). But he has a -3 run value on the pitch due to allowing four homers out of 207 sliders thrown.

Diamondbacks vs Athletics Lineup

Saturday night baseball. https://t.co/epBmrbYHsx is only $17.99 for the rest of the season! pic.twitter.com/KHXWsIpmlo

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 2, 2025

No big surprises in the lineup for Saturday's game. James McCann gets the start behind the plate for Zac Gallen, as has been the norm for over a month now.

Diamondbacks and Athletics Bullpens

The D-backs only received 2.1 innings out of starter Anthony DeSclafani on Friday, but got 5.2 solid innings from the bullpen. Kyle Nelson made his season debut, throwing a scoreless inning.

Jalen Beeks came off the injured list to record one out. Jake Woodford and John Curtiss each threw two innings, with only Woodford allowing a run.

Kevin Ginkel has not pitched in over a week, and Kendall Graveman has not pitched in five days. Lefties Andrew Saalfrank and Kyle Backhus are both well rested as well.

The Athletics got five innings from their starter. Their pen had to work four innings, including Sean Newcombe, the lead member of their closer committee. Fellow committee member Michael Kelly and Jack Perkins are rested.