Diamondbacks Look to Ride Hot Streak into Cleveland behind Zac Gallen

The D-backs will face one of their toughest competitors yet for a three-game road series.

Jul 20, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) delivers against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to blaze their way through MLB, winning another series against the Pittsburgh Pirates thanks to more late-inning heroics. Tonight, they'll begin an even tougher challenge, facing the MLB-topping Cleveland Guardians. First pitch is at 3:40 p.m. Arizona time.

The D-backs sit at 60-52, in possession of the third Wild Card spot, with a 1.5 game lead over the Mets behind them. They're only 0.5 games behind both the Padres and Braves in WC1 and WC2, and are 8-2 in their last 10 games.

The Guardians are 67-44, playing good baseball all season, although they're fresh off back-to-back losses at the hands of the Orioles.

D-backs ace Zac Gallen will start for Arizona. The righty has struggled of late, pitching to a 4.25 ERA in his last seven games. He's had an uncharacteristically tough time limiting traffic, with a 1.42 WHIP in that period as well.

That said, he's put forward back-to-back Quality Starts, with his last time out saw him pitch six strong innings, allowing just one run and striking out six. Despite having shaky command in his last handful of outings, he still posts a 3.56 ERA and 3.37 FIP

He'll need to limit mistake pitches and stay around the edge of the zone, as the top of Cleveland's lineup can easily punish pitches left in poor spots. But he'll also have to limit walks and base traffic, as that's been the cause of his recent woes.

Across from Gallen is left-hander Logan Allen. No, this is not the Logan Allen that pitched for the D-backs this season, rather a young stud who has fallen on some rough times this season.

Allen pitched to a 3.81 ERA last season over 125 1/3 innings. This year, he hasn't looked quite the same. A 5.45 FIP suggests his 5.67 ERA mostly represents how poorly he's pitched in the majors this year, and tonight's start is his first in the majors since July 6th, as he's spent time down in the minor leagues since then.

Allen features a low-velocity arsenal, with a 91 MPH fastball and 79 MPH sweeper. He also throws a soft cutter and changeup, but relies primarily on the fastball.

While he does allow some walks, the D-backs will need to look for a different approach than they used on rookie sensation Paul Skenes. Rather than working Allen's pitch count up and prolonging at-bats, they could do some damage to a very hittable arm by attacking early in counts.

With the Guardians bullpen leading the league in ERA (2.60), Arizona would do well to get some runs and chase Allen early. If they can tire out the Cleveland bullpen, they could sneak a slight advantage for the rest of the series.

Lineups

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Cleveland Guardians lineups / Alex D'Agostino

With a left-hander on the mound for the Guardians, Corbin Carroll will sit after hitting his 10th triple of the year in last night's contest.

Gabriel Moreno will fill in the two-hole, with Ketel Marte leading off. Marte crushed his 27th home run yesterday, and will look to continue his dominant 2024 campaign, but will be the DH, and get a day off his feet defensively.

Marte currently boasts the highest OPS in the NL since June 23rd (1.104), while his teammate, third baseman Eugenio Suarez is second at .993.

As a whole, Arizona has benefited from the long ball greatly in their hot July, as they've hit the third-most home runs in the majors since July 1st, with 48, although they've still found ways to create chaos and manufacture runs without slugging heavily.

The Guardians will trot out a left-hand heavy lineup to combat Gallen. The top of Cleveland's order has been dangerous, with leadoff man Steven Kwan is hitting .333, while new acquisition Lane Thomas will hit second.

As always, switch-hitting third baseman Jose Ramirez remains a massive threat from both sides of the plate. He's been especially hot of late, slugging 1.038 in his last seven games, while slashing .277/.329/.541 on the season with 29 home runs.

Arizona will have their hands full with the Guardians, but remain unbeaten in their last 10 series. They've played good teams closely, and will have a tough road ahead of them, with the NL-leading Phillies coming to Chase Field after they return.