Zac Gallen Set For Round Two of Spring

The ace will make his second Cactus League start against the Padres today.

The Diamondbacks will travel to Peoria to face another NL West rival in the San Diego Padres today. The game starts at 1:10 P.M will be broadcast by San Diego on MLB.TV 

Lineups

D-backs at Padres Lineup: March 12, 2024 / Michael McDermott

Zac Gallen will get his second start today. The right-hander was a little shaky, with twos across the board in his first start, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs, while striking out two batters across two innings, however he did retire six hitters on only 21 pitches in a loss to the Texas Rangers.

Despite a somewhat unsightly stat line, Gallen said he felt good, although not up to his lofty standards. A common theme among incumbent starters is they are simply trying to fine tune specific pitches, rather than do whatever it takes to get each batter out. He wasn't hit very hard regardless, and will take the mound today with a chance to kick it up into a higher gear.

The first start of Spring isn't one to put heavy weight into, but the ace will look to put forward a better performance today, albeit facing San Diego's starters. Gallen will have to watch out for a potent San Diego 1-4, consisting of Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado.

The D-backs, one game removed from playing their entire Opening Day lineup behind RHP Ryne Nelson, are opting to rest their starters. Jake McCarthy will lead off and play right field, whereas recent infield addition Elvis Andrus will get a second chance to put down his argument for the backup shortstop role. The veteran was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his first game action against the Dodgers on March 10th.

Blaze Alexander will look to continue his hot streak, this time at second base rather than his natural shortstop position. 

Pitching Probables

RHP Corbin Martin will get his first return to live game action since his injury in 2023. The right-hander has looked very sharp in camp, with velocity in the mid-upper 90s and a sharpness to his breaking balls in a couple of live BPs this week. Manager Torey Lovullo noted his excitement to see Martin finally return to the mound against a real opponent, and called it a "big moment" for the resilient right-hander.

Other D-backs pitching probables include a handful of left-handers in Blake Walston, Joe Mantiply and Andrew Saalfrank. 

The D-backs will face Padres prospect Drew Thorpe. Thorpe was a second-round draft pick out of Cal Poly in 2022, who pitched to a stellar 14-2 record and 2.52 ERA over 23 starts in the minors last year, pitching 139 1/3 innings and moving from High-A to Double-A in his first season of pro ball.