Braves Wear Down Zac Gallen in Diamondbacks 6-2 Loss

Chris Sale out-pitched the D-backs Ace who had a rough second inning leading to an off night.

Jul 9, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen reacts in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks lost to the Atlanta Braves at Chase Field Tuesday night 6-2. Ace starter Zac Gallen gave up five runs in 5.1 innings. That included a three-run homer to Adam Duvall on his 104th and final pitch. It was an 0-2 curveball that stayed up just enough in the middle of the plate, and the slugger golfed it out to left field, giving Atlanta a 5-0 lead at the time.

Gallen's pitch count got so high due to a rough, 36 pitch, second inning. A leadoff double by Marcel Ozuna was followed by a walk, and a passed ball by Gabriel Moreno. That cost Gallen as the next batter, Eddie Rosario, hit a fielders choice grounder to third that would have been a double play had the runners not advanced.

An RBI ground out was followed by a line drive off the bat of Orlando Arcia right at second basemen Ketel Marte. The ball seemed to knuckle as it clanked off his glove. and trickled into right field as a second run scored. It took Gallen two more batters to get out of the inning, and his pitch count was up to 53 when it was over.

Torey Lovullo could be seen speaking to a visibly upset Marte a couple of times in the dugout afterwards. "He was upset that he didn't make the play and that he let the team down in that moment. I just wanted to assure him that he didn't..... I just wanted to get his head right, and just let him know like hey man, ok, it happened, flush it and lets go."

Gallen settled down after that. A great double play started on a diving stop by Kevin Newman ended the third inning and Gallen retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth. He struck out Austin Riley to start the 6th, but then a long double by Matt Olson and single by Ozuna set up the Duvall homer that knocked Gallen out of the game.

Gallen threw 43 curveballs, more than any other pitch. "That's my best pitch, I'm going to live and die by that pitch", he said.

Gallen had shown a velocity spike in his previous outing against the Dodgers, touching 98 and averaging 96. But tonight his fastball average was back down to 94, closer to his season average 93.3. He topped out at 96.7, but said afterwards that he was trying to dial it down a little in favor of better command.

"I was probably pitching 90%. I was trying to be a little more under control.....I felt like I was a little out of control in the last start. Fastball command suffered a little bit. So I was really just trying to tone it back a little bit."

Gallen believes that fatigue and pitch count were not really the main factors in the pitch to Duvall, but rather sequencing. "Maybe just move the eye levels a little bit, maybe go fastball up or fastball down, whatever it was, I think it was more the sequencing."

Torey Lovullo said he was little short in the bullpen so he tried to extend Gallen a little longer than he normally would have. "I was piecing it together and I felt like if he gave us six [innings] we were going to be in a great spot. So I sent him out there and asked him to do a little bit more, 105 pitches, and he just made that mistake to Duvall on an 0-2 curveball and that's part of the game."

The offense did not have a good night against Braves ace, Chris Sale. They managed to draw several early walks, and drive up his pitch count. But they couldn't get the big hit against him until the bottom of the sixth.

Trailing 5-0 by that time, Gabriel Moreno singled with one out. Jake McCarthy then smoked a line drive through the right centerfield gap for an RBI triple. He scored on a ground out from Eugenio Suarez, accounting for the D-backs two runs.

That got Sale out of the game, but the Braves bullpen held the D-backs to just one single the rest of the way. Jarred Kelenic made a spectacular catch in the seventh inning on a smash to the centerfield wall by Randal Grichuk to rob extra bases.

'The D-backs are now 45-47, 2.5 games out of the wild card behind the San Diego Padres. Game three of the series is Wednesday night at 6:40 P.M. The D-backs are likely to go with an opener followed by bulk pitcher Slade Cecconi. Charlie Morton will pitch for the Braves.