After losing another key pitching piece on Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks could use a return to form by 2023 All-Star Game starter Zac Gallen.
Gallen (4-8, 5.15 ERA) will take his next turn Saturday when he opposes San Diego right-hander Ryan Bergert (1-0, 1.26) in a veteran/rookie matchup in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks will attempt to extend their winning streak to five games after 5-1 victory over the Padres in the series opener Friday.
Arizona lost ace Corbin Burnes to season-ending Tommy John surgery two weeks ago, and the team announced Friday that closer Justin Martinez has a UCL sprain and will be out at least 12 months. That has accentuated the need for mound help.
“This game is extremely tough and unforgiving, and it can just rip you apart,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We just have to go out with that next-man-up attitude.”
The Padres also have been hurt by pitching issues. Top starter Michael King was placed on the injured list two weeks ago due to a pinched nerve in his shoulder area, and Yu Darvish has not pitched after suffering right elbow inflammation this spring.
“We’re pushing, piecing it together and competing at the same time,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt, whose starters have lasted six innings in only three of their past 16 games. “But we’re going to need some depth out of some starters.”
Gallen, who has finished in the top 10 in National League Cy Young Award voting three times, has made one quality start in his past six appearances, an 8-3 victory at Atlanta on June 3 in which he gave up three runs (one earned) in a seven innings.
He was victimized by three home runs — two solo shots and Matt McLain’s game-deciding two-run homer in the seventh — in a 4-2 loss at Cincinnati last Sunday. All came on off-speed pitches.
“I’ll take solo homers,” Gallen said. “Obviously, you’re trying to prevent big innings, but you don’t want to let them in the game. In the seventh, it’s a little tough. I was just trying to go away and it just backed up on me.”
Gallen has given up 14 homers this season, tied for second in the NL behind the Cubs’ Jameson Taillon (16). He gave up a career-high 22 homers in 2023, when he made 34 starts. His 36 walks are an NL high.
Gallen is 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 12 starts against San Diego. He did not face them last season when he missed time with a hamstring injury but was 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA in four starts against them in 2023.
The Padres have 11 homers in 68 1/3 innings against Gallen. Fernando Tatis Jr. is 5-for-17 with a pair of solo homers. Jake Cronenworth is 7-for-24 with a homer, and Manny Machado (6-for-23) and Xander Bogaerts (3-for-11) also have homered off him.
Bergert will make this third start of the season while filling in for King. He gave up one hit in 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his last time out at Milwaukee last Sunday, although he did not get a decision in the Padres’ 1-0 victory.
“I made pitches when I needed to,” Bergert said of his start against the Brewers, when he walked four and struck out four. “I was executing things a little bit better than my last start, and I was happy with that. I felt more comfortable on the mound and not so jittery as the first one.”
–Field Level Media
