Zac Gallen Tosses Six Brilliant Shutout Innings in Return From IL

The Diamondbacks get a much needed boost from their Ace starter in their 3-0 victory over the Oakland A's

Jun 29, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen (23) throws against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Zac Gallen came back from the Injured List after missing almost a month and showed immediately why he is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. On the heels of a string of short starting pitching outings, he dominated the Oakland A's for six shutout innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks won 3-0

Gallen came out firing strikes, looking sharp from the outset. He threw the two fastest pitches of his career to Shea Langeliers, 97.0 and 97.2 MPH. He allowed a two-out single to Brent Rooker, and that was the last hit he would give up on the day.

Gallen pitched to the minimum the rest of the way. He issued a leadoff walk in the 2nd but got an inning-ending double play. He retired the last 14 hitters he faced, simply mowing down the A's hitters.

Gallen's final line was 6IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 Strikeouts. Gallen threw 77 pitches, 50 for strikes. His record is now 6-4 and he's lowered his ERA to 2.83

Coming off the hamstring injury suffered in New York on May 30th against the Mets, he was on a pitch count limit, which was exercised at the end of the sixth. Gallen went into the dugout to fist bumps and high fives from coaches and teammates.

After the game, Torey Lovullo said "It sure is good to have him back. The way he walked up on the mound I could just tell that all that hard work he was doing over at Salt River [rehabbing], he was making the most out of every day. The stuff came out hot, he was landing every single pitch that he possibly could."

His outing gave a tremendous lift to a team that has not been getting many long or good outings from the starting pitchers. Lovullo has been forced to rely on his bullpen far too much, with predictable results as they've become worn down.

"It was exactly what we needed, we had several unavailable relievers in the bullpen. I got to pick and choose who I wanted from the remaining guys, and it worked out about as well as it could have"

Kevin Ginkel pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing a lone single in the seventh. Paul Sewald worked a 1-2-3 ninth, recording his 11th straight save. The closer has a microscopic 0.57 ERA in 17 games.

39, 843 fans showed up for the Ketel Marte Bat Flip Bobblehead. They were not disappointed. Not only did they get to see Gallen's spectacular outing, but Marte stepped up once again to deliver a clutch performance.

His two-out RBI single in the second inning put the D-backs out in front 1-0. He later had another single, a double, and drew a walk, all from the Designated Hitter spot in the lineup.

Marte is now batting .290 with a .877 OPS and should be the favorite to capture the starting All-Star honor at second base. Phase 2 of the voting starts tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. Arizona time. Be sure to set your calendar reminder and go to this link

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had his 8th multi-hit game in his last 10 games played. That included an RBI double in the 4th. Jake McCarthy had an RBI single in the third against A's left-handed starter Hogan Harris. McCarthy is batting 16-40, .400 against left-hand pitching this year.

The Diamondbacks could have easily blown open this game. They tallied 12 hits, drew four walks and a hit by pitch. They went just 3-14 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 men on base. They kept the A's pitchers on their heels however with baserunners in every inning.

There was one missed scoring opportunity that wasn't the D-backs fault. That came in the very first inning. Gurriel hit a two-out single. He was followed by Christian Walker who doubled off the padding down the left field line. Gurriel came in to score with a head-first slide, or so it seemed.

Originally called a foul ball by the umpiring crew and waved off, that call was overturned on review. But instead of allowing the run to stand, the replay crew in New York placed Gurriel, who was running with two outs, back at third base. Lovullo came out to argue, but after a brief conversation with the umpire, which he humorously described, he went back to the dugout.

"We spent most of the time arguing why I couldn't argue. He asked me if I wanted to get thrown out, and I said yes I do, and then he said are you sure, and I said no I'm not, and I just turned around like a good doggy and got back in the dugout"

Fortunately, the play did not factor in the outcome. See the below post on X with a link to the play in question. The Diamondbacks record improved to 40-43 and they inched to within 2.5 games back of the Cardinals for the third Wild Card spot. The series finale is Sunday at 1:10 P.M. Brandon Pfaadt will face Luis Medina.

Fortunately this play didn't come back to factor in game outcome. Losing a run that clearly should have scored due to umpire mistake may be letter of law but sure isn't intended spirit of replay

Christian Walker doubles after review https://t.co/CaM5yK4q2h #MLBFilmRoom via @MLB

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) June 29, 2024