Torey Lovullo Speaks on Zac Gallen, Offensive Woes

The D-backs skipper spoke on Arizona Sports 98.7 about a variety of topics today.

May 25, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) looks on against the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo spoke to Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 this afternoon, providing some context on ace Zac Gallen's health situation, as well as addressing some of the D-backs' offensive woes as of late.

Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen was removed from last night's game after just six pitches. The team announced soon after that the ace was removed with a right hamstring strain, the same injury that struck him in Seattle just over a month ago.

“I knew that news wasn’t going to be good. He’s such a warrior, he’s such a competitor, that for him to actually acknowledge that he wasn’t in a good spot and call a trainer out there, I was already thinking the worst,” Lovullo said.

Gallen has since been placed on the 15-day IL, with righty Slade Cecconi recalled to take his slot in the rotation. Although Cecconi's ugly 6.12 ERA might be daunting, Lovullo expressed confidence in the young arms to fill in in Gallen's absence.

“These are guys that have been brought in and drafted and created some depth for these very reasons. So it’ll be a next man up mentality, but we have about 3-4 plans that will be executed depending on the information we get on Zac,” Lovullo said. 

“When something like that happens, I know that I’ve got 26 players, 25 players minus Zac, looking at me. I’ve got a staff that’s looking at me, and the easy thing to do would be to put my head down and feel crappy about what was going on and start to feel sorry for ourselves," said Lovullo, "but I know that I have a responsibility to this team to kind of anchor things and get this thing on its course..."

Offensive Struggles

It's no secret that the Diamondbacks haven't been able to produce at the rate that they should be. After scoring a measly two runs in Thursday night's game against the Mets, the D-backs have scored just nine runs over their last six games.

Thursday's game showed a perfect example of problematic at-bats. In the ninth inning, down 3-2 and facing Mets right-hander Reed Garrett, Christian Walker worked a lengthy walk, putting the tying run on first with no outs.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Pavin Smith proceeded to pop out on two straight pitches, leaving Jake McCarthy to ground out to end the game. The D-backs needed better quality at-bats, especially against a pitcher who was struggling to find the zone.

Rather than taking cuts at the first strike they see, Lovullo said he needed more patient and intentional decisions about which pitches to swing at.

"I'm looking for some slug and some extension there, I’m looking for someone to catch a ball and really drive it into a gap or drive it out of the ballpark, that’s the high side of it," said Lovullo, "But we want to swing at strikes, and I've always been taught that you're only as good as the pitches you swing at… We need to be patient, we need to grind down a pitcher that hasn’t really been in that position.” 

One such hitter that's been a culprit of weak at-bats has been Eugenio Suarez. The slugger is slashing .210/.275/.308 with only three home runs. While a lower average could be expected, the slug and power the D-backs had hoped for hasn't been there.

While the skipper wouldn't commit to a decision regarding sitting Suarez, he did acknowledge that all options are on the table, and that there are plenty of struggles up and down the lineup.

"Taking playing time away from a player that's done it his whole career is a little bit of a blow, but it’s something that I probably have to start to think about,” Lovullo said.

The D-backs are now just 3-16 in series openers. Lovullo mentioned that, ahead of game one in New York, closer Paul Sewald came to him with some suggestions to shake things up.

While he admitted that it was too close to first pitch to be able to re-draw the plan, there will "definitely" be considerations for changes to be made going forward. Ultimately, Lovullo wants his team to seek out the pitch they're looking for. Rather than simply swinging at strikes (or chasing outside the zone), the skipper said he wants them to be "stubborn" in waiting for their pitch to hit.

"I know this team is very capable of waiting for the pitch they want and checking off of it, and then going to work on the one they're looking for... Being stubborn to the pitch we’re looking for... grind down pitchers and get into bullpens. When we do that, we’re going to be in good shape."