PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks clobbered four home runs, and Zac Gallen delivered an ace-like performance in Tuesday’s 8-2 win against the San Francisco Giants.
Jake McCarthy, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk and James McCann all went yard, as the D-backs improved to 11-2 when they hit at least three home runs.
Arizona’s yo-yo season is back over .500 at 43-42, which is only three games behind the third NL Wild Card spot.
After a devastating sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins last weekend, the D-backs have bounced back with two wins to start this four-game set against a division rival that sits ahead of them in the standings (45-41).
Game-shifting moment
The first two innings on Tuesday looked pretty bleak for the Diamondbacks.
Gallen allowed his 20th home run of the season in the second inning to Willy Adames, and another run scored after Daniel Johnson doubled, advanced on a throw that got away and scored on a grounder. Giants starter Hayden Birdsong started the game with a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
The game shifted when D-backs center fielder Alek Thomas threw out Giants base runner Rafael Devers at the plate to end the top of the third. Arizona followed with eight unanswered runs, and Gallen threw four perfect innings to end his night.
Zac Gallen the ace showed up
On Tuesday, Gallen was very effective doing what he’s done best over the years, dotting up the fastball and working in the curveball for swing-and-miss. He produced 16 whiffs, eight of which came from 15 swings against his curveball. He was able to expand the zone with that pitch similar to how he baffled Yankees hitters in New York earlier this season.
Gallen finished with seven innings, one earned run and 10 strikeouts, striking out the side in the fifth inning. He did not walk a batter for only the second time all season. He only has two walks in his last three outings, a welcome sign considering walks have been an issue (9.9% entering Tuesday).
“I’m always watching video, always trying to keep getting better, trying to find delivery cues that allow me to stay sharp,” Gallen said. “I had pretty good leverage on the baseball tonight.”
McCann called the vast majority Gallen’s pitches on Tuesday, as they were able to get on the same page in only their second game working together.
“ I think we knew each other a little bit better, we were maybe on the same page quicker tonight,” McCann said. “I thought his execution was really good. I think if you look back at the game in Chicago, we made a couple of mistakes. Tonight the mistakes were limited.”
Before first pitch on Tuesday, manager Torey Lovullo remarked that Gallen in particular is a player who can get the Diamondbacks moving in the right direction with a more consistent second half.
Gallen now has four starts this season with at least 6.2 innings pitched and one or zero earned runs. Entering Tuesday, only 18 pitchers in MLB had that many, and the D-backs won all four of those games.
He’s also thrown six starts with at least five earned runs allowed. Only Luis Severino of the Athletics has more, and the D-backs have lost five of those six.
Tuesday was another reminder that he can dominate on the right day. Given the state of the bullpen and absence of Corbin Burnes, the Diamondbacks have needed to and will continue to rely on Gallen finding solutions. Life is much easier when starting pitching is consistent.
“ I don’t know. I’ve had some days where I’ve felt pretty good and the results have been less than stellar. And I’ve had some days where I felt ‘eh’ and the results, at least I felt like I was making pitches,” Gallen said. “For me, I’ve always thought it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. A lot of baseball to play.”
“I worry less when I see somebody prepare the way he does,” Lovullo said. “He is very engaged and frustrated by the idea that he hasn’t gone out there and had typical Zac outings as consistently as he has. … I think he gets on a roll as good as anybody. … I worry less also because he knows what it takes to be good.”
Diamondbacks crush 4 home runs
Geraldo Perdomo put a run on the board with an RBI single in the third after McCann advanced to second base on a passed ball by Patrick Bailey.
Birdsong started the fourth inning with 10 straight balls followed by a monster 422-foot home run from McCarthy, which extended his hitting streak to six games.
Rake McCarthy pic.twitter.com/tOq889rhU4
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 2, 2025
Gurriel homered for the second straight game in the fifth inning, which was extended after Eugenio Suarez reached first base on a dropped third strike — another passed ball.
Leading off the sixth, Grichuk capped an eight-pitch at-bat with a 453-foot rocket to center field, and McCann followed with his first Diamondbacks home run. Grichuk started in place of Josh Naylor, who was scratched before first pitch, and delivered two extra-base hits with a double and home run.
Lovullo said he felt more confident Naylor would be in Wednesday’s lineup.
We’re goin’ back-to-back! pic.twitter.com/GX9Rjp06YA
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 2, 2025
All nine starters in the Diamondbacks’ lineup reached base safely, totaling nine hits and five walks.
From the third inning on, the Diamondbacks played a pretty complete game in all phases while the Giants were sloppy, which made a huge difference in this being a blowout.
Diamondbacks’ next game
Merrill Kelly (3.49 ERA) starts for the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, while right-hander Landen Roupp will pitch for the Giants (3.43 ERA).
First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
