Game #26: Royals vs. Diamondbacks

Zac Gallen takes the mound for the Diamondbacks as they look to win the rubber game of the series against the Royals.

The Diamondbacks (13-12) go for the series win against the Kansas City Royals (6-18). They will have their ace take the mound in today's getaway game, looking to restore order.

How to Watch

Television: Bally Sports Arizona (ARI); Bally Sports Kansas City (KC)

Radio: ESPN Phoenix 620 (ARI), KHOV Univision 105.1 (Spanish); KCSP 610

Starting Pitcher Matchup

RHP Zac Gallen (5 GS, 3-1, 2.59 ERA, 31.1 IP, 39 K, 5 BB)

Gallen enters this start with a 21.2 scoreless innings streak, the second time in his career he's had a scoreless streak of at least 20 innings in the last calendar year. His last time out he shut down the Padres over seven innings, allowing just two singles and striking out 11. On the season he enters with a 2.59 ERA, with 2.24 FIP, 2.62 xFIP, and 2.33 xERA equally as bullish about his run prevention.

Gallen averages 93.5 MPH on his fastball with average extension, which plays up due to a high spin rate, sequencing, and command. He complements the fastball with a really good curveball, changeup, and a cutter. The changeup had been lagging behind the past couple seasons, but has re-emerged as another putaway pitch for the D-backs ace.

LHP Ryan Yarbrough (7 G, 0-2, 7.62 ERA, 13 IP, 5 K, 3 BB)

Yarbrough was once a reliable swingman for the Tampa Bay Rays, but a couple subpar seasons led to his exit. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the off-season and made the team as a reliever. His season high for pitches is 52 in his last appearance against the Angels on April 21st.

Yarbrough mixes in a sinker, cutter, curveball and a changeup almost equally, with all four pitches between 18% and 30% on the season. He doesn't throw hard, with an average sinker velocity of 87 MPH, but commands the ball well enough to avoid the sweet spot of the barrel. When going good, he yields a lot of soft contact as opposing hitters have an average exit velocity of just 84.9 MPH for his career. 

This year it hasn't been as great, as batters are averaging 88.1 MPH this season and have struck out in 8.5% of their appearances. The D-backs will need to be stubborn at taking pitches down in the zone they can't do damage on and force Yarbrough to pitch to the heart of the zone.

Lineups

MLB.com

Notes

Emmanuel Rivera gets his first start of the year. Last night he made his season debut, hitting a single in the eighth inning that scored two runs. He had been hitting .343 with a .960 OPS with Triple-A Reno. With Yarbrough, Kyle Freeland, and Austin Gomber as potential hitters the D-backs will face this week, Rivera should get plenty of run.

José Herrera once again starts behind the plate in a series finale game. It will be the third time this year he's caught Gallen. With Herrera behind the plate, Gallen is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and a 10/1 strikeout to walk ratio in 12.2 innings.

Gallen is on pace to set career highs in strikeout (33.1%) and walk (4.2%) rate. His 28.8% K-BB% ranks third amongst all MLB starters, behind Jacob deGrom and Spencer Strider. 

This will be the second time in his career that Gallen will take a 20+ consecutive innings scoreless streak into a start against the Royals. Last time he held the Royals to six scoreless innings, although it took a perfect relay on an extra base hit to cut down a runner at home. 

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is the only hitter in the D-backs lineup with extensive experience against Yarbrough. Gurriel is a career .250 hitter (8-for-32) with a home run against the soft-tossing lefty.