PHOENIX — Zac Gallen was one good pitch away from a quality start on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, which would have been the third straight from the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation.
After a shaky fifth inning, Gallen had one out to get, but he hung a slider to Joey Bart. The ball just scraped over the left-field wall, giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead in a 4-2 series-clinching win at Chase Field.
For Gallen, Thursday’s game had a mix of promising signs and failures to execute that resulted in an underwhelming six inning-, four-run pitching line.
The good:
Gallen drew a season-high 15 whiffs (swings-and-misses), nine with his slider and six with the curveball (none with the fastball), according to Statcast. Gallen’s arsenal has changed this year. His curveball does not drop like it used to, and he has replaced it as his primary breaking ball with a slider that has been more effective.
Coming into Thursday, Gallen’s overall whiff rate on the year was 16.5%, way below his career and the league’s average (both at 25%). The slider has been his best pitch at missing bats.
He had that pitch working, except for a couple of hangers that he paid for.
Strikeouts in general have been hard to come by, and he matched a season high on Thursday with five.
The not-so-good:
Gallen allowed two solo home runs, which has not been an issue this year. Home runs were a massive problem for him last season, but he entered Thursday having given up two through his first seven starts.
And two solo home runs were not the only culprit on Thursday. The fifth inning was, too.
Gallen recorded two quick outs before Brandon Lowe — who hit the first home run — singled. Gallen walked the next hitter to put a runner in scoring position, and two singles later, the D-backs were trailing 3-2.
Overall, Gallen didn’t look awful, and the swing-and-miss stuff was way better than usual when looking at this season as a whole. But he did not get away with a few mistakes, the two-out walk standing out as a killer.
It did not help that he received little run support, as Arizona’s offense was quiet for a second straight game.
Paul Skenes shut the D-backs down on Wednesday, and Mitch Keller was very good to follow him.
The D-backs’ initial response started out well enough, as they scored a couple runs in the first three innings. They capitalized on a lead-off Geraldo Perdomo walk with an RBI single from Adrian Del Castillo in the first inning.
Corbin Carroll went yard in the third, his first home run and extra-base hit of May.
From there, near silence. Arizona worked four walks but only collected five hits — two from Carroll.
The D-backs have scored two runs or fewer in five of the last nine games.
The Diamondbacks have played five consecutive series without winning a set, a grinding stretch as the quarter-mark of the schedule approaches.
The D-backs have lost six of seven games. They have fallen to 17-19, having to fight to get back to .500.
Next up, Mets-Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks host the New York Mets for three games, starting Friday night.
Pitching probables:
Friday: Ryne Nelson (1-3. 6.61) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (1-2, 2.97)
Saturday: Merrill Kelly (1-3, 9.95) vs. RHP Clay Holmes (4-2, 1.69)
Sunday: Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 2.50) vs. TBA
The opener starts at 6:40 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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