Zac Gallen Takes Huge Step Forward Towards Opening Day Start

With a better feel for the timing in his delivery, Gallen's velocity and stuff ticked up vs. Angels

With just two starts left, time was of the essence to stretch out Zac Gallen for Opening Day. Gallen looked like the pitcher who finished third in the National League Cy Young race against the Angels today, pitching into the 5th inning. He allowed just one hit and walked one while striking out four in 4 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

"Honestly it's the best I felt in a while," said Gallen. "I feel like everything I'm working is starting to click today, delivery-wise."

Gallen is comfortable with the timing of his delivery and how the ball is coming out of his hand. It showed in his velocity, which jumped up a couple ticks in today's start, and his overall stuff. Gallen's fastball, which clocked in around 90-91 MPH in earlier starts this spring, averaged 92.7 MPH today. He got whiffs on all four of his pitches and was efficient at putting away hitters, needing only 58 pitches in his start. Gallen was so efficient through four innings, that manager Torey Lovullo sent him back out in the 5th.

Gallen experimented throwing a slider in today's start against the Angels. He typically throws a cutter/slider hybrid for a harder breaking ball, identified as a cutter, but is currently more focused on getting the shape right. He's throwing them at about 85% effort to make sure they're breaking, as he has a tendency to throw too hard and not let them break, and will add an extra gear to the pitch as the season progresses.

"It's a pitch I've been working on and felt pretty solid about it today, I felt like put in some good work. I threw more than I planned on but you got to show it, you got to see what the hitters are telling you. I'm going to use it and see how they react."

Gallen is expected to start Opening Day for the D-backs, with Major League Baseball announcing all 30 starters on Tuesday. Opening Day for the D-backs will be March 28th.

Blaze Alexander got a chance to showcase his defensive skills at shortstop, earning the start while Geraldo Perdomo is on the mend with a left knee injury. Alexander turned a nice double play in the 5th on a comebacker hit to Ryan Thompson that ended the inning. Lovullo said the young infielder has a good base and setup for approaching the ball and the delivery of the throw is right on. With the backup shortstop position still undecided, Alexander has potentially thrown himself right in the mix.