Arizona Diamondbacks Daily: D-Backs fall to Rangers, but get good news on Corbin Carroll

The Arizona Diamondbacks continue their road trip with a two-game set at the Texas Rangers. Tuesday's opener is at 5:05 p.m. and can be seen on Bally Sports Arizona.

Diamondbacks proceeding with caution with Corbin Carroll

The Arizona Diamondbacks have ruled out worst-case scenarios when it comes to Corbin Carroll’s left knee injury, manager Torey Lovullo said, and though the rookie outfielder did not play in Tuesday night’s 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers, he continues to trend toward a return.

“He is continuing to check boxes and show us the signs that he is feeling good and he’s healthy,” Lovullo said. “We’re still waiting for a complete diagnosis and we have to make sure he’s in the right place to go out there and execute without going backwards or getting hurt. He’s getting close. He’s getting very close.”

Carroll crashed into the left-field fence at Coors Field on Saturday night, in the process suffering a left knee contusion. He underwent an MRI on Monday that Lovullo said ruled out major structural issues.

Lovullo suggested to reporters that the club would want to see Carroll go through a full workout on the field, running the bases and tracking down fly balls, before he could potentially return to action the following day. If that is the case, it likely means he will not return to the lineup until Friday at the earliest.

Carroll did take batting practice late Tuesday afternoon and blistered balls to all parts of Globe Life Field.

“It’s a very conservative evaluation up to this point, it just needs to take a little time,” Lovullo said. “There’s still some soreness in there that’s getting worked out. He feels good. Before we rush to put him on the field we want to just make sure everything has been diagnosed and he feels right.”

Zac Gallen’s streak ends as Rangers top Diamondbacks

ARLINGTON, Texas — For most of the past month, Zac Gallen has been pumping strikes, mixing his pitches and somehow always staying a step ahead of opposing hitters. But on Tuesday night the Diamondbacks right-hander was behind in counts, his command was imprecise and his options felt more limited.

It led not just to the end of his latest scoreless streak, but also to his first “clunker” of an outing since the first week of the season. To be clear, giving up three runs in five innings, which Gallen did in a 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers, normally wouldn’t be classified as such, but he stuck with that word when asked if he was sure he would describe it that way.

“I mean, I haven’t given up a run in 28 innings,” Gallen said. “So a little bit of a clunker.”

Indeed, Gallen had gone nearly a full month of baseball, four full starts, between runs allowed, the second time in as many seasons he put together a lengthy shutout streak. This year’s fell well short of the 44 1/3-inning streak he authored last year, and it ended in a way that shows just how difficult such streaks are in the first place.

The Rangers scored in the first inning on a Marcus Semien double and a Nathaniel Lowe single. Semien’s ball was hit 91.3 mph, Lowe’s 67.1 mph, neither of which would be considered well struck.

“It goes to show you how good he was,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “He was shutting teams down outing after outing, it’s pretty impressive, because the big leagues has some good hitters, guys who can do the things that we saw the Rangers do today.”

Gallen did not walk a batter. He did not allow a home run. He struck out six. Nothing about his night screamed disaster, but he still sounded frustrated with his performance, speaking in quiet tones with reporters about the way he felt.

“I couldn’t really get into the flow of the game,” Gallen said. “I think when I’m at my best I’m in the flow of the game and I’m throwing any pitch in any count. I think the lack of command kind of narrows down certain pitches. That’s probably what I would characterize it as really.”

Gallen said he found himself repeatedly going to the game-planning notecard he keeps in his back pocket, which he saw as an indication that his outing wasn’t progressing smoothly.

“I probably really wasn’t ahead in the count after the first three pitches a lot,” he said. “I just kind of had to stay in the middle of the plate. They saw some good pitches, fouled off some good pitches, put some good pitches in play, like in the first inning.”

Still, the Diamondbacks led, 4-3, when Gallen departed. The Rangers wasted little time going to work against the bullpen. Ezequiel Duran clubbed a go-ahead, two-run shot off Diamondbacks reliever Scott McGough in the bottom of the sixth, and the Rangers added another run in the seventh.

The Diamondbacks’ offense, meanwhile, went dead silent during the back half of the game, collecting just three hits -- all singles -- over the final six innings.

The Diamondbacks still had a chance to tie it in the ninth, putting two on with one out, but the Rangers’ Will Smith got Emmanuel Rivera to fly to left and Christian Walker to pop out to end it.

The Diamondbacks will look to salvage a split of this brief two-game series on Wednesday afternoon when rookie Brandon Pfaadt takes the mound in his major league debut.

Diamondbacks acquire Konnor Pilkington to bolster rotation depth

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Diamondbacks acquired left-hander Konnor Pilkington from the Cleveland Guardians on Monday, adding to the starting pitching depth on their 40-man roster. Pilkington was assigned to Triple-A Reno.

Pilkington, 25, logged a 3.88 ERA in 58 innings with the Guardians last season. However, he has mostly struggled this year, posting a 8.36 ERA in 14 innings (four starts) in Triple-A Columbus.

He made one relief appearance in the majors this year, tossing two scoreless innings, before being designated for assignment. The Diamondbacks acquired him in exchange for cash considerations.

“Just a chance to add some depth,” Diamondbacks Assistant General Manager Amiel Sawdaye said. “He has historically been a guy who has thrown a lot of strikes. He got away from that a little bit this year. Hopefully we can get him back to that.”

Already this season the Diamondbacks have lost right-hander Zach Davies to an oblique injury and released left-hander Madison Bumgarner, moves that have forced them to tap into their starting pitching depth on the 40-man roster.

“We have (Drey Jameson) down in the minor leagues, but that was it from starting pitching (40-man) roster depth standpoint,” Sawdaye said. “Everyone else is in the big leagues. This gives us another person who can create some length.”

Tuesday's Diamondbacks-Rangers pitching matchup

Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (4-1, 2.15) vs. Rangers RHP Jon Gray (1-1, 3.91).

Gallen takes a 28-inning scoreless streak into this start. He had a 44 1/3-inning scoreless streak last season. … He leads the National League with 51 strikeouts. … Gallen has an eye-popping 45.8 percent whiff rate on his curveball. His change-up (40.7 percent) has been nearly as effective. … He has faced the Rangers once, giving up three runs in 6 2/3 innings with no walks and eight strikeouts in a start in 2021. … Gray, the former Rockies pitcher, is in his second season with the Rangers. Last year, he logged a 3.96 ERA in 24 starts. … He gave up three runs in six innings against the Reds in his most recent start. … Gray has faced the Diamondbacks 18 times in his career, but he has not seen them since leaving Colorado. He owns a career 5.60 ERA vs. the Diamondbacks.

Coming up

Wednesday: At Texas, 11:05 a.m., RHP Brandon Pfaadt (2-1, 3.91)* vs. Rangers LHP Andrew Heaney (2-2, 4.38).

Pfaadt will be making his major-league debut. He is the highest-ranked pitching prospect in the organization and is ranked No. 23 on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list. … He throws a lively fastball in the 93-94 mph range that has both rise and cutting action as well as a slider that is a true swing-and-miss offering. He also has a change-up and curveball. … He gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings in his first outing of the year in Triple-A Reno but has posted a 2.49 ERA in four starts since. … Heaney gave up three runs in six innings against the Yankees in his most recent start. … Heaney gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings in his first start of the year but has posted a 2.05 ERA in four starts since. … Heaney throws a fastball in the 92 mph range along with a slider and change-up. … He is a 10-year veteran but this will be his first career regular-season start against the Diamondbacks.

*Stats from Triple-A Reno.

Thursday: Off.

Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (2-3, 3.06) vs. Nationals RHP Chad Kuhl (0-2, 9.41).

Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (1-0, 6.52) vs. Nationals RHP Josiah Gray (2-4, 2.67 ERA).

What to know about the Texas Rangers

At 17-11, the Rangers are in first place in the American League West. They have been getting production up and down their lineup, including a breakout season at the plate by C Jonah Heim, who is hitting .303/.386/.592 through 76 at-bats. RF Adolis Garcia has a team-high eight homers, 3B Josh Jung has six and 2B Marcus Semien has five. SS Corey Seager (.359 average) also was off to a fast start before he went down with a hamstring strain. The Rangers starting pitching has been good, as well, ranking third in the AL with a 3.40 ERA. However, the club just lost RHP Jacob deGrom to the injured list with right elbow inflammation. RHP Dane Dunning has been very good in a long relief role, logging a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 innings, and is expected to move into the rotation for deGrom. LHP Will Smith has converted 3 of 3 save chances and has a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings.

Early reading for Diamondbacks-Rangers series

Corbin Carroll: Diamondbacks hoping Corbin Carroll picks up where he left off before injury

Next step awaits: Brandon Pfaadt's unlikely baseball journey from DII to the verge of the major leagues

Throwback approach: Diamondbacks catcher Moreno's style helps him throw out baserunners

MLB after one wild month: Five trends that will hold up until October

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks Daily: Zac Gallen's streak ends, Corbin Carroll takes BP