As far back as before the MLB trade deadline, Zac Gallen felt things were starting to turn in a positive direction. He’d started to find the strike zone more often.

Where there was a lack of command and too often getting behind in counts earlier in the season, Gallen put his faith in trying different pitches in different counts.

It’s working, and the adjustments showed in the Diamondbacks‘ 2-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at Chase Field.

“We’re still playing for something here,” Gallen said after the Diamondbacks climbed back to 5 ½ games out of the last National League wild-card spot, held by the New York Mets. “For me, that’s kind of where the confidence and motivation come from. We’re not out of it just yet, so go out there every fifth game and try and give these guys a chance to win.”

Gallen (11-13) had five strikeouts in six scoreless innings, working out of jams in the first and fifth innings. The Rangers had five hits and left nine runners on base.

Gallen feels his fastball has been “pretty decent” over his past six or seven outings. He’s 4-1 in his past seven starts, and has given up no more than three earned runs in any of those outings.

“When it’s getting located and coming out with the right shape and kind of that late life,” Gallen said, “I feel like everything to me feels like it’s pretty synced up.”

The Diamondbacks’ closer-by-committee situation continued, with right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford finishing the game for his third save of the season.

Woodford combined with Gallen and relievers Ryan Thompson, John Curtiss and Andrew Saalfrank to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.

The Diamondbacks, who had only three hits in the game, got on the board in the top of the first inning on a two-out Gabriel Moreno single that scored Corbin Carroll. Earlier in the inning, Ketel Marte was thrown out at home plate trying to score on an error.

In the second inning, a fielding error on Rangers first baseman Jake Burger allowed Alek Thomas to score for a two-run Diamondbacks lead. Jake McCarthy was credited with a run batted in on the play.

The attendance of 14,921 was the smallest crowd of the season at a Diamondbacks home game. Fans saw the Diamondbacks win their sixth game in the past eight.

“We’re in this thing, I don’t care what anybody says,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve got to keep fighting for every little inch that we can get and see where that lands us. We’re having a lot of fun out there, these guys are doing their job at a very high level, and it’s yielding some really good results.”

-Jose M. Romero

Diamondbacks must fill hole in left field without Gurriel

Even in the best-case scenario, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s knee injury will cost him at least a couple of months of the 2026 season, meaning the Diamondbacks will have a hole to fill in left field to start the year.

From listening to general manager Mike Hazen talk through the situation, it seems the Diamondbacks will not pursue a big-name replacement when the club has so many needs on the other side of the roster. Hazen could always change his mind, but he sounded confident the team would look within.

“We need to be able to cover left field internally,” Hazen said, “because the resources are going to need to be expended on pitching.”

Gurriel was placed on the injured list on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with a torn ACL in his right knee, an injury he suffered the previous night while trying to avoid a collision in the outfield. Gurriel is seeking multiple opinions but is expected to need reconstructive surgery. Depending on the severity of the injury, he could be sidelined anywhere from eight to 12 months.

The shorter end of that timetable would mean a return in the first couple of months of next season.

Hazen sees no shortage of options when it comes to potential fill-ins. Three players currently on the roster are obvious candidates: Jake McCarthy, Jorge Barrosa and Blaze Alexander, the latter of whom has begun to get reps in the outfield this season after coming up as an infielder.

Tim Tawa, who played in 59 games in the majors earlier this year but has spent the past month on the injured list in Triple-A Reno, could be another option. He is expected to return from the IL soon and could find his way back to the majors this month.

Gurriel’s injury came at a bad time in the sense that he was in the midst of one of his more productive stretches this season. He finishes the year with rather pedestrian numbers: .248/.295/.418 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 129 games. His advanced offensive numbers rated about six or seven percent below league average.

Still, none of the players who look like potential stopgaps are safe bets to deliver the sort of steady offensive production of Gurriel. They are, however, young, athletic and fast, and could help the club in other ways by providing a speed-and-defense dynamic.

Hazen views them as part of a shift toward a different style of offense, one that has been underway since the club dealt Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor at the trade deadline.

“At a base minimum, we should have a good defensive team next year,” Hazen said. “We’ve seen what a better defensive team has done (to help the pitching staff).

“I think this team has enough talent, athleticism and skill to hit enough to be a good offensive team, even if we’re not relying on scoring nine runs a night.”

Prospects Tommy Troy and Ryan Waldschmidt, both of whom are in the upper minors, also could work their way into the outfield picture next season.

Hazen figures his attention this offseason will be focused almost entirely on the pitching staff. Assuming right-hander Zac Gallen departs, the Diamondbacks will have two vacancies to fill in the starting rotation, plus a bullpen that likely needs two or more late-inning relief options.

With a payroll that is expected to decrease from this year’s franchise record mark — the Diamondbacks began this year in the neighborhood of $200 million — Hazen believes he will need to devote most of his financial resources toward pitching. He also might have to trade from his position player group to land arms.

—Nick Piecoro

A day game following a night game is often the opportunity for the backup catcher to be in the lineup, but the Diamondbacks’ James McCann was not on Sept. 3 and hasn’t played since Aug. 27.

McCann is dealing with a back problem, but has not been placed on the injured list. He did put on the catcher’s gear prior to Wednesday’s game and headed out to the bullpen.

“McCann is just about there,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I want to make sure that if I’m going to put an athlete out there, that he’s 100 percent and doesn’t take any steps backwards.”

Lovullo said McCann is eager to play, and the plan is to have McCann ready for the team’s game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday, Sept. 4.

-José M. Romero

Coming up

Sept. 4: Off.

Sept. 5: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-8, 5.40) vs. Red Sox LHP Payton Tolle (0-0, 3.38).

Sept. 6: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (12-8, 5.33) vs. Red Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (10-2, 3.38).

Sept. 7: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.57) vs. Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (11-6, 3.07).

(This story has been updated to add new information.)