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The visiting Arizona Diamondbacks will turn to right-hander Zac Gallen as they look to keep pace in the National League wild-card race when they face the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

The Diamondbacks took the series opener 5-1 on Thursday behind a dominant pitching performance from Brandon Pfaadt, who allowed only a single in the fourth inning before Garrett Mitchell’s two-out solo homer in the seventh cut the lead to 3-1. Pfaadt struck out a career-high 12 batters, including seven in a row to tie a franchise record, and walked none in a 104-pitch outing.

Pavin Smith added a two-run homer in the eighth for Arizona. Smith has five homers in his past 13 contests after hitting only three in his first 40 games. He is hitting .385 (15-for-39) over his last 14 games with five homers, five doubles and 16 RBIs.

Arizona (85-68) remained tied with the New York Mets, two games behind the San Diego Padres for the top wild-card spot and two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves. The Mets, who hold the tiebreaker against Arizona, defeated Philadelphia 10-6 on Thursday.

“We’re in a good spot. The team’s really starting to play together,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said after Thursday’s victory. “We have pretty much our entire team here with us right now, and it hasn’t been that way.

“So, we’ve just got to keep pounding away at it, keep pounding the rock,” he said.

Gallen (12-6, 3.61 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Colin Rea (12-5, 4.14).

Gallen, making his second consecutive start against Milwaukee, is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three starts this month, allowing eight hits in 16 innings with 22 strikeouts.

On Sunday, he allowed three runs on six hits in five innings against the Brewers, but did not get the decision in an 11-10 victory in 10 innings. Gallen is 3-3 with a 2.20 ERA in seven career starts vs. Milwaukee.

The Brewers (88-65), who clinched the NL Central on Wednesday, are three games behind the Phillies and Dodgers for the best record in the NL. The top two teams receive a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Tobias Myers, who allowed three runs (one earned) in four innings and took the loss Thursday, said he didn’t think the Brewers suffered a letdown after sewing up their second consecutive division title.

“That’s kind of what we talked about, just kind of flip the script and move forward,” Myers said. ” … Just keep working, keep winning games, and get ready for October.”

Rea came out of the bullpen in his most recent appearance, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings on Monday to preserve a 6-2 win over Philadelphia and earn his first career save. In his last start, however, Rea was rocked for 10 runs on 11 hits, including three homers, in four innings in a 13-2 loss at San Francisco on Sept. 11.

Rea is 10-5 with a 4.41 ERA in 25 starts, and 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in four relief appearances. He has tossed a career-high 156 2/3 innings this season.

Rea is 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA in two career starts against the Diamondbacks.

–Field Level Media