One Thing the Diamondbacks Can Do To Help Zac Gallen

Tuesday night's loss to the San Diego Padres was a perfect encapsulation of the struggles Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen has faced all season to this point.

Gallen, handed a 1-0 lead as a result of familiarly-poor situational offense, was immediately ambushed in the first inning. Four runs then came across over the course of just two outs, and Gallen's hopes of a quality start — and a win — were dashed before even getting into the second frame.

That has been a very consistent problem area for Gallen this season: the first inning.

The former ace's 6.34 overall ERA is the worst qualified figure in the majors, but his 9.00 first-inning ERA is also among baseball's worst; the only qualified starter with a higher first-inning ERA is, strangely, Rangers ace Jacob DeGrom, who still holds a strong 3.49 full-season ERA.

The Diamondbacks have stated repeatedly that they aren't going to simply give up on Gallen. Considering a relative lack of serious rotational replacement options at this stage, there is a not-insignificant argument that a DFA is off the table for the time being.

But the D-backs do have one option available to them that might helpy reduce Gallen's issues. At this point, there's nothing to lose.

Diamondbacks should try an opener for Zac Gallen

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen (23) pitches against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field in Phoenix on July 1, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The idea was first broached by Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers, on a recent episode of the Snakes Territory podcast — utilizing an opener could be the best way to remove a particularly brutal shortcoming in Gallen's game.

With a group of relievers who have mostly overperformed their preseason expectations, starting Gallen off with a clean first inning, and perhaps even a second inning, might be the best way to get him deeper into a game without the early blowups.

Of course, there's still the reality that Gallen is simply not pitching well as a whole. His stuff is not as effective as it once was, he's not getting swing-and-miss, and these trends aren't new.

But, if the Diamondbacks are not willing to pull the plug on Gallen, they need to start thinking about reasonable ways to tweak his starts. As evidenced by Tuesday's six-inning, four-run start, Gallen is clearly capable of eating innings and even providing some clean, strong-looking frames of work.

If Arizona is hoping to find a way to maximize what they still have left in Gallen, the equation will have to split the difference between getting Gallen past the early-outing hump and avoiding the late-outing meltdown.

Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Brandyn Garcia (55) pitches against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field in Phoenix, on July 1, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The positive side of this is Arizona has plenty of bullpen options from which to choose — a strange sentence, given the history of the D-backs' relief corps. For a southpaw-heavy team like the Dodgers, lefty Brandyn Garcia could be used to get past the top of that order.

For a contact-out approach, Taylor Clarke or Ryan Thompson have been effective in a variety of circumstances. Even Kevin Ginkel or Jonathan Loaisiga could be strong options. The only real restriction would be Paul Sewald, who should be limited to save situations only.

Arizona has had success deploying an opener in the past — notably in the 2023 postseason, with a significntly worse bullpen, at that. This likely won't be a true "fix" for Gallen's issues, but it could set the Diamondbacks up to have a better chance at winning a game during Gallen's starts.

Check out the above episode of Snakes Territory for a further breakdown of the opener idea. It can't hurt to try.

Add us as a preferred source on Google