PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks grinded out a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night, making up a game on the New York Mets for the third National League Wild Card spot.
The D-backs (78-77) are back down to 2.0 games behind the Mets with seven contests remaining.
The Mets (80-75) lost to the Washington Nationals in extra innings on Saturday, although the Cincinnati Reds (79-76) defeated the Chicago Cubs to climb to within one game of New York and one game ahead of Arizona.
Zac Gallen delivers for Diamondbacks
Zac Gallen delivered a quality start with seven innings, three earned runs and nine strikeouts. He allowed two runs after a lead-off walk in the first inning, and he was dominant from that point on. From innings 2-6, Gallen allowed one run (Alec Bohm home run) on three hits with eight of his punch outs.
He had the curveball working, as the pitch induced 10 whiffs on 19 swings.
Gallen’s season ERA dropped to 4.70, and his ERA in 10 starts since the trade deadline is 2.82.
Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, Arizona rallied with back-to-back doubles from Blaze Alexander and James McCann, along with a go-ahead single from Ildemaro Vargas.
John Curtiss recorded the save in the ninth.
Up next for Diamondbacks
In a duel of left-handers on Sunday, Eduardo Rodriguez takes the ball for Arizona against Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez.
The series finale begins at 1:10 p.m. MST on ESPN 620 AM and the Arizona Sports app.
