Zac Gallen to Return this Weekend as the Diamondbacks host the A's

Pitching Matchup information for the three game series between Oakland and Arizona

May 24, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws against the Miami Marlins in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks (39-42) host the Oakland A's (29-54) for a three game series this weekend at Chase Field. The D-backs are coming off a series loss to the Minnesota Twins in which they were out scored 21-9 and outhit 27-13 over the final two games.

The D-backs will be encouraged to see Zac Gallen back out on the mound this coming Saturday. While the team has not made it official, as there are other roster moves to be made, Torey Lovullo said it was the "worst kept secret" that Gallen would return this weekend.

The A's have lost five straight games, including being swept in Anaheim by the Angels this week. The A's are an especially weak road team, going 11-31 in away games. Their seasons started off competitively going 14-17 through the end of April. They're 15-37 since May 1st however.

It's tough to sweep any team, but with a tough road trip to Los Angeles and San Diego looming next week, the D-backs will need to take advantage of the A's road struggles and get back to .500 before heading to Los Angeles.

Arizona has dropped to 2.5 games back in the NL Wild Card Standings with three teams in front of them. They're also 11.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, and three games behind the Padres who are in second place in the division.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, June 28th, 6:40 P.M. MST

JP Sears, LHP: 4-7, 5.04 ERA, 77 ERA+ in 84 IP

Sears, who is in his third major league season, has a five pitch mix. He throws a four seam, sweeper, change up, and mixes in the occasional sinker and slider. The fastball only averages 92.2 MPH. His best pitch is the sweeper. If hitters can pick it up and lay off that pitch, his fastball and change up get hit hard.

Slade Cecconi, RHP: 2-6, 5.74 ERA, 71 ERA+ in 53 IP

Cecconi was pulled after just three innings against the Phillies in his last outing despite giving up just one run. The outing prior to that he's thrown six shutout innings. After getting two straight short outings from his starters against the Twins, look for manager Torey Lovullo to extend Cecconi deeper in this game.

Saturday, June 29th 1:10 P.M.

Hogan Harris, LHP: 1-1, 2.72 ERA, 5.00 FIP in 36.1 IP

After making a couple of long relief appearances and getting optioned back and forth to Triple-A a couple of times, Harris has made five straight effective starts for the A's. He's gone at least five innings in all of them and pitched to a 2.28 ERA.

He's given up 10 walks and six homers in 27.2 innings in those starts however, so he's certainly been the beneficiary of some good fortune. He throws his 93.3 MPH four seamer 59% of the time and has a curveball and a change up.

Zac Gallen, RHP: 5-4, 3.12 ERA, 130 ERA+ in 58 IP

Gallen is expected to be activated off the injured list for this game. He suffered a hamstring strain on May 30th against the Mets after throwing just six pitches. The Ace of the Diamondbacks staff was having a typical solid season before the hamstring issues arose.

In his most recent rehab outing Gallen threw 67 pitches with four "up-downs" in a simulation game. He'll likely be limited to about five innings, and 80 pitches in this game.

Sunday June 30th, 1:10 P.M. MST

Luis Medina RHP: 1-3, 5.25 ERA, 75 ERA+ in 24 IP

Medina is 24 years and in his second major league season. Last year he went 3-10 with a 5.42 ERA. He throws both a four seamer and sinker, along with a slider. He'll also toss an occasional curve or change up.

The fastballs average over 95 MPH and can reach the upper 90's. Hitters are batting just .184 on the four seamer, but .308 on the sinker and .269 on the slider.

Brandon Pfaadt RHP: 3-6, 4.45 ERA, 3.93 FIP in 3.93

Pfaadt has been the team's most reliable starter in terms of innings and getting deeper into games. He's gone at least five innings in all of his 16 starts, and six innings or longer in 10 of them. The issue for Pfaadt has been the one bad inning or ill timed home run.

He doesn't walk many batters and maintains an excellent 86/24 strikeout to walk ratio. The walks tend to come in bunches however. Likewise, of his 13 homers allowed, four of them have been three-run shots, and five more have been two-run homers. Just six of the homers have been of the solo variety.