Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers through six innings in Friday’s 3-0 road victory, as he continues to look the part since sticking around at the trade deadline.
Gallen struck out eight hitters with two hits allowed, as Arizona (67-69) secured a third straight win over a first-place team after traveling west from Milwaukee. The bullpen did its job to preserve the shutout victory, as Jalen Beeks, Kyle Backhus and Jake Woodford each threw a scoreless inning. Woodford earned the save.
Arizona’s last shutout victory was on July 25 in Pittsburgh, and the D-backs last shut out the Dodgers on May 10 with Corbin Burnes on the mounds.
The Diamondbacks mustered four hits, one of which was a Blaze Alexander two-run home run off Dodgers starter Blake Snell (5.1 IP, 3 ER) in the fourth inning. Gabriel Moreno singled in the third run in the sixth inning, the club’s last hit of the game. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar, starting his first MLB game since May, went 0-for-4.
Zac Gallen is pitching like Zac Gallen
Gallen’s season ERA dipped below 5.00 for the first time since mid-June at 4.94, and his ERA since the trade deadline on July 31 fell to 2.57.
Gallen was a strikeout machine early, punching out six out of seven batters from innings 1-3. The strikeouts covered up lead-off walks in each of the first two innings. When the strikeouts started to ease, Gallen continued to coast with nine consecutive batters retired.
He faced some trouble with two on and two outs in the sixth inning, and he got away with a hanging slider to Will Smith for an inning-ending fly out.
Gallen was able to spot the fastball where he needed to in the strike zone and draw swing-and-miss with the curveball (five whiffs and six fouls on 12 swings), his formula for success.
He did so with a last-minute catching change, as James McCann was scratched due to back tightness. Gallen and Moreno were able to get on a rhythm.
The right-hander has put together dominant starts this year, as Friday was his ninth appearance with one or zero earned runs. The issue had been stringing together quality outings, but that is where August has differed.
Gallen has thrown five or six innings with three or fewer runs allowed in all six starts since the trade deadline, his most consistent stretch of solid results all season. He had not pitched to an ERA under 5.10 in any individual month all year until August, and the D-backs went 4-2 in these games.
Walks and home runs spelled trouble for Gallen throughout the campaign, but his walk rate has been solid this month (2.3 per nine innings) while he has allowed a season-low three home runs.
He is pitching like someone who could have helped a contender, but the Diamondbacks did not receive an offer they saw worth taking for the impending free agent. His turnaround has contributed to the club’s improved performance since the deadline (16-11).
Up next for Diamondbacks
The second of three games at Chavez Ravine begins Saturday at 6:10 p.m. MST.
Eduardo Rodriguez (5.67 ERA) gets the start against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow (3.35 ERA).
Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
