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Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen has been baffled by the worst early season struggle of his career.

Gallen (3-5, 5.14 ERA) will hope to see a turning point Friday night when he faces the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game road series.

The Colorado Rockies hit four homers against Gallen in his last start, a 14-12 loss on Saturday. They scored six runs on eight hits in five innings.

“I didn’t necessarily feel like myself tonight out there, which, honestly, was most frustrating,” Gallen said after that game. “I feel like we kind of took a step forward. Then tonight was two steps back, But just all around, (it’s) just pretty frustrating.”

Gallen won his first two starts in May, beating the New York Mets each time while allowing just two runs on four hits in 13 innings.

But in his past two starts, he allowed 10 runs on 18 hits in 10 2/3 innings. Gallen already has allowed 10 homers this season after allowing just 13 in 28 starts last season.

The Colorado game was the fifth time in 10 starts that he allowed four or more runs.

“Just fastball, everything, just didn’t have the crispness like I had the last few,” Gallen said. “I just felt like I didn’t have great stuff tonight, which just makes my job a little bit tougher.”

Gallen is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals, his original organization.

After losing two of three games to the Detroit Tigers to start this homestand, the Cardinals will try to get back on track with Miles Mikolas (3-2, 3.77) drawing the start.

Prior to the Tigers series, the Cardinals had won 12 of their previous 14 games to climb back into the National Central race. They scored five or more runs eight times during that span.

“Everyone always says hitting contagious, but I think since 2023, we’ve kind of struggled to put a stretch like this together,” Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think now with guys who have been here for a year or two, now they understand that this is possible.”

While Gallen is still searching for consistent success this season, Mikolas found it after suffering an 18-7 loss to the Red Sox on April 6 in Boston.

He allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits while retiring just eight batters during that game. Since then, Mikolas has posted a 2.17 ERA over seven starts.

He allowed two hits and two walks in six innings in his last start, a 1-0 victory over the Royals in Kansas City. That was the third time he gave up no runs during this seven-start span.

The Cardinals have won Mikolas’ past four starts. He earned the victory in three of them.

“My delivery and my mechanics, my fastball command has been really good the last couple starts,” he said. “I think that’s what I really want to lean on. Everything works. The curveballs, the sliders, cutters — everything works off of that fastball command.

“Keeping guys honest, moving it in, out, up, down and having confidence in my defense and having confidence in our catchers.”

Mikolas is 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA in six career outings against the Diamondbacks, including four starts.

–Field Level Media