Torey Lovullo Gave a Surprising Evaluation of Zac Gallen's Poor Start

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen entered 2026 with, perhaps, a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He is "betting on himself" on a one-year deal after his market was not as robust as some might have expected following 2025.

But that bet did not show signs of paying dividends yet in his opening day start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gallen said, when named opening day starter in place of Merrill Kelly this year, that he was hoping for a better result than last year's opening day.

Well, the lines were very similar. In 2025, he allowed four runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts over four innings to the Chicago Cubs. This year, he allowed four runs in four-plus innings on five hits, two walks and one strikeout.

It was one particularly crushing three-run homer that did most of the damage, and one of his four runs was bequeathed to reliever Juan Morillo.

Manager Torey Lovullo, however, gave an extremely positive review of Gallen's efforts.

"It was really, really good until that inning," Lovullo told Arizona sports 98.7's Burns & Gambo. "He made one mistake, and that's what happens at this level. You can be cruising, especially in this venue against this team.

"I would say for the first four innings, really, really good. A lot of swing and miss, almost dominant against a very, very good offensive team. We'll continue to build on that. ... Overall, he did a good enough job. Just want that to continue for the rest of the outing without slumping towards the end of it."

Torey Lovullo on Zac Gallen's rough start vs Dodgers

Mar 26, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Gallen certainly did look like a pitcher on the attack for his first four frames. He was getting swing-and-miss and landing pitches in the zone consistently. Some damage is to be expected against a high-powered Dodgers lineup, but Gallen looked to be in total command, until that changed.

"Zac has a little edginess to him. I can probably say that because I know him so well. He's got a little different look to him when he's talking to you, when he's going out there and getting the work done in between starts. For the first time [Thursday], I watched him take them out with that edginess," Lovullo said.

"I will say the prep and the belief that he's going to go out there and dominate is back to where we've seen it in years past. As far as the stuff, I think that slider-cutter combination created a lot of swing-and-miss.

The Diamondbacks need Gallen to show more consistency in 2026. He did display somewhat better command and aggressiveness in his first start, but the right-hander needs to work toward eliminating the big inning — an issue that plagued him in 2025, as well. But the stuff looks better than ever.