Zac Gallen leads Diamondbacks past Pirates to snap skid
It had been close to two months since the last time he had faced the Pittsburgh Pirates, but for Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen it might as well have been five days ago. The Pirates did not just beat him when he saw them in May, they handed him the worst outing of his big league career.
Facing them on Friday night at Chase Field, Gallen felt like the scales were tipped, like he needed to do something to balance out the equation.
“I owed them a good one after last time,” Gallen said.
With seven innings of one-run ball, Gallen led the Diamondbacks to a 7-3 victory, a win that not only evened the score in his personal grudge book, but one that stopped his team’s four-game losing skid, its longest such streak of the season.
“This was what we needed,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
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Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered, doubled twice and walked to spearhead an offense that had been slumping in recent days.
Gurriel’s three-run shot off veteran lefty Rich Hill in the third capped a four-run inning that put Gallen and the Diamondbacks in the driver’s seat. His reaction — he flipped his bat and pumped his fist emphatically — spoke to both his and the Diamondbacks’ need for a big hit; Gurriel had been hitting just .171 over his previous 28 games.
“We were coming off two really difficult losses, offensively we weren’t producing and we just really needed those runs at the moment,” Gurriel said, speaking through translator Alex Arpiza. “I felt good from the beginning. We came in and prepared right and we all had a good approach today.”
Gallen took it from there. It was both his final start before the All-Star Game and his last chance to make a case to National League manager Rob Thomson that he ought to be starting on Tuesday night in Seattle.
But Gallen seemed to suggest that factor was a distant second compared to his desire to stick it to a Pirates team that scored eight runs (five earned) off him in 3 2/3 innings on May 19 at PNC Park.
“That one has definitely sat with me for the last two months,” Gallen said. “They got me. It is what it is. But, yeah, I owed them one for sure. The video of Dennis Green was playing in my head. I knew I owed them one. Kind of extra motivation.”
Green, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach, infamously melted down after a loss to the Chicago Bears, slamming the podium and screaming, “They are who we thought they were! And we let ‘em off the hook!”
Gallen was asked whether he would have carried his grudge against the Pirates into next year had he not lined up to face them again this year.
“What are you getting at?” he said, laughing. “Yeah, probably. Obviously, it tends to die down. That would have been a whole 10-12 months or whatever it would have been until I faced them next time.
“I would have said that the (revenge) scale would have been like a three. But since I got to line up with them again (this year) it was like an eight or a nine. It still would have been in the back of my mind.”
The only run Gallen allowed came in the fourth, when Tucupita Marcano’s single followed Jared Triolo’s one-out double. Lovullo said he took note of Gallen’s disappointed body language after the run scored.
“You could tell by his reaction after that base hit,” Lovullo said, “that he felt he should have gone seven shutout innings.”
Said Gallen: “I felt pretty good. I feel like everything was working for the most part. I was able to kind of stay locked in with sequences and the report and stuff like that. I felt pretty good.”
Triolo was the only Pirates runner to advance so far as second against Gallen, who had four 1-2-3 innings and retired the final eight batters he faced.
Through 19 starts, Gallen owns a 3.04 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, numbers that might put him in the conversation to start the game.
“I’d be pumped, but at the same time if it doesn’t happen I’m just happy to be there,” Gallen said. “I feel like I’ve finally broke through, getting my first one (All-Star appearance). If it happens, it would make it that much sweeter.”
Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll accomplished the rare feat of playing on the same day he underwent an MRI, and though he made it through all nine innings it was not without incident. In his at-bat in the eighth, he briefly reached for his bothersome right shoulder after a swing, then appeared to be in discomfort on a swing that produced a ground ball.
Lovullo, however, did not sound concerned by the situation, saying Carroll would be back in the lineup on Saturday.
“I asked him how he was doing and he said he was fine,” Lovullo said. “He said he was good. I think he’s in a good spot.”
—Nick Piecoro
Diamondbacks' concern level 'fairly high' with Drey Jameson injury
Torey Lovullo said his concern level with Drey Jameson is “fairly high” after the right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness. He is undergoing imaging Friday.
“Just my experience with the tightness in the area he was talking about today, it's usually, there's a signal in there, something's going on,” Lovullo said.
Jameson appeared to grimace and shake his pitching arm after a pitch to Tommy Pham in the sixth inning Thursday night. Lovullo, pitching coach Brent Strom and team trainer Max Esposito all came out to the mound after the pitch, but Jameson told them that he was merely experiencing cramping in his wrist — something he has dealt with before. After feeling good on a warmup pitch, Jameson remained in the game for the rest of the inning.
“I'm kinda kicking myself today,” Lovullo said. “I've learned that if it's an elbow or shoulder, zero questions asked, you're coming off the mound. I was told by the group that it was a cramp in his wrist.”
Jameson threw 17 more pitches in the inning, including a 12-pitch strikeout of Daniel Vogelbach. In the dugout afterward, he said he felt good on all of those pitches. But Friday morning, he reported tightness in his forearm, prompting both the trip to the injured list and the imaging that will reveal the extent of the damage.
—Theo Mackie
Dominic Canzone called up to majors; Fletcher optioned
The Diamondbacks made a series of roster moves prior to Friday night's game, most notably placing Jameson on the injured list.
Outfielder Corbin Carroll, who exited Thursday’s game with right shoulder discomfort, was not among the moves, which could be seen as encouraging news considering he was expected to undergo an MRI exam earlier in the day. Manager Torey Lovullo is expected to address Carroll’s situation during his pregame media session.
The Diamondbacks also optioned outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Triple-A Reno.
Taking their place on the roster is outfielder Dominic Canzone, who had his contract selected from Reno, and right-hander Justin Martinez, who was recalled from Reno. The 25-year-old Canzone was hitting .354 with a 1.065 in Triple-A this season.
—Nick Piecoro
Friday's Diamondbacks-Pirates pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (10-3, 3.15) vs. Pirates LHP Rich Hill (7-8, 4.50).
Gallen gave up four runs in seven innings against the Angels on Sunday, walking one and striking out 12. All of the damage came on a pair of home run, a solo shot by CF Mike Trout and a three-run homer by RF Mickey Moniak. … Gallen has given up four runs in each of his past two starts. … Gallen had perhaps the worst start of his career against the Pirates when he faced them in May, giving up eight runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings. … Hill is in his 19th big league season and first in Pittsburgh. … He has been a fairly reliable source of innings for them, going at least five innings in each of his past nine starts. … He has not faced the Diamondbacks since 2018. He has posted a 5.86 ERA in 12 starts against him in his career. …
Coming up
Saturday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (9-4, 3.52).
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (1-4, 6.52) vs. Pirates RHP Luis Ortiz (2-3, 4.86).
Monday-Thursday: All-Star break.
What to know about the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates were a first-place team around this time last month, but they have had a rough go in recent weeks. They are 6-16 since June 13, going from one game up in the National League Central to 7 1/2 games back. Their tailspin has coincided with the rise of the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates are fourth from the bottom in the National League in offense, averaging 4.28 runs per game. They are ninth in the league with a 4.41 ERA. CF Jack Suwinski has a team-leading 19 home runs. DH Andrew McCutchen is hitting .268/.383/.425 in his first season back in Pittsburgh since 2017. The Pirates have promoted a trio of highly regarded prospects recently, calling up RF Henry Davis, IF Nick Gonzales and 3B Jared Triolo. RHP Mitch Keller is having a strong season atop the Pirates rotation. He was recently named to the NL All-Star team. RHP David Bednar is 16 for 17 in save chances with a 1.36 ERA.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Zac Gallen leads Diamondbacks past Pirates to snap skid
