Inside The Diamondbacks

Gallen Breaks Webb's Scoreless Streak in Diamondbacks 12-6 Victory

Scoreless IP streak ends at a franchise best 44.1, but Gallen still sensational. Jake McCarthy leads offensive breakout.

Jack Sommers

© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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Zac Gallen broke Brandon Webb's franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched and the offense, led by Jake McCarthy's 4 hits and three RBI, broke out to bat around twice in a 12-6 Diamondbacks victory. 

The very first batter of the game, Ryan McMahon, laced a line drive to center field but Daulton Varsho raced in to make a great diving catch. Had the ball got by him it likely would have been an inside the park home run, ending the the streak right there. 

Unfazed, Gallen struck out the next two batters to end the inning with 42.1 consecutive scoreless innings breaking Webb's franchise record streak of 42. 

After two more scoreless innings, striking out 4 of the 6 batters he faced, the streak was up to 44.1 IP. But in the top of the 4th he allowed three straight singles, the third by C.J. Cron to drive in the first Colorado run and the streak was over. The Rockies would go on to score two more in the inning on a two out double by Elehuris Montero. The three runs were all Gallen allowed today however. 

Gallen completed three more innings without giving up a hit. His final line was 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 Walks, 11 Strikeouts. He threw 95 pitches, 67 for strikes. With the win, his record is now 12-2 with a 2.50 ERA

After the game Gallen said it was a somewhat bittersweet to have the streak broken but that he was mainly focused on the franchise record and was honored just to be on a list with all the other great names in the game that have had similar streaks. He went out of his way to praise Daulton Varsho's catch in the first, and his defense in general throughout the streak. Watch the full interview with Todd Walsh here. 

Rockies starter Ryan Feltner had a 3rd inning meltdown, walking four batters as the D-backs batted around in the inning. Josh Rojas had an RBI ground out and Stone Garrett knocked a two RBI single up the middle. A double steal also brought home the 4th run of the inning. Garrett stole second and Christian Walker bolted for home when Rockies catcher Brian Serven threw up the line instead of chasing Walker, who got caught in between the bases. Walker made a beautiful hook slide on the play to avoid the tag, and was credited with a steal of home.  

McCarthy had a two-out RBI single in the 6th to help score the D-backs 5th run of the game. He would have another two out RBI in the 7th when Arizona batted around for the second time this series, scoring 5 more runs in the process. Ketel Marte had a big pinch hit RBI double off the bench and Josh Rojas drove in two with a base hit. 

Not done, McCarthy picked up his 4th hit of the game, an RBI triple into the leftt center field gap to score Daulton Varsho. He scored on a base hit by Christian Walker for Arizona's 12th and final run. 

With a .305/.365/.484 triple slash, and .849 OPS, McCarthy now leads the team in Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, Slugging, and OPS. Emerging as the team's best hitter over the last two months, he's also been hitting in "clutch" situations, going 14-for-27 (.519 B.A.) with runners in scoring position and two outs. 

The D-backs offense started out just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position but went 6-for-9 from the 6th inning on in those situations.  Having patient at bats they drew 9 walks, while making Feltner (2-8, 6.12) and 6 Rockies relievers throw 199 pitches. 

The only negative on the day was another rough outing for Ian Kennedy, who failed to record an out in the 8th inning, allowing 3 runs on a hit by pitch, a home run by Ryan McMahon, and a base hit that later scored on a fielders choice.

The D-backs concluded the road trip by going 2-4, and their record now stands at 66-73.

The Diamondbacks will travel home tonight to kick off a 7-game home stand. They play the Los Angeles Dodgers tomorrow night at Chase Field, at 6:40 P.M. MST. Rookie right-hander Ryne Nelson gets the start for the D-backs. Nelson had a sensational major league debut of 7 scoreless innings against the Padres on September 5th.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson starts for the Dodgers. He is having a career year, with a 14-3 record and 2.73 ERA in 26 starts. 

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Jack Sommers
JACK SOMMERS

Jack Sommers is the Publisher for Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI. Formerly a baseball operations department analyst for the D-backs, Jack also covered the team as a credentialed beat writer for SB Nation and has written for MLB.com and The Associated Press. Follow Jack on Twitter @shoewizard59

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