Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen throws 6 hitless innings vs. Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen had a no-hitter going through six innings of Wednesday’s 6-4 win against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, although his pitch count did not allow him to continue the pursuit.

Gallen threw 100 pitches, and Arizona turned to Kevin Ginkel to start the seventh inning. The no-hit bid ended right there, as San Francisco shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald singled up the middle on Ginkel’s second pitch.

More importantly for the Diamondbacks down the stretch of the season, Gallen felt sharp, saying he has not yet found the rhythm he is looking for but is closer.

“Felt like everything was pretty sharp, I got a pretty good feel for the command for the most part,” Gallen said. “Even pitches in the second that resulted in walks were pretty close to where I was trying to go. I felt like I had a pretty good feel for everything. Just trying to go out and make pitches and mix and do what I do when I’m at my best.”

Zac Gallen registers his 8th strikeout of the game with his 100th pitch.

Oh by the way, he has not allowed a hit through six innings 😳 pic.twitter.com/5wyJkCcJmq

— MLB (@MLB) September 5, 2024

Preventing Gallen from working deeper into the game were four walks, including three in a row with two outs in the second inning. Those four counts went full, racking up a total of 31 pitches.

After his three walks, Gallen struck out Giants catcher Curt Casali on a 3-2 curveball out of the zone to prevent any damage.

From there, Gallen punched out four of the next six batters and retired nine in a row before walking Mike Yastrzemski in the sixth inning. A double-play ball and strikeout of Michael Conforto ended Gallen’s night.

“He caught a real tailwind,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Six no-hit innings, it was really good once he got through that little speed bump. So credit to him for finding the location of all of his pitches. He got very stubborn and did his job.”

Gallen knew exactly what was happening on the scoreboard but did not fight too hard to stay in the game given the circumstances. Lovullo said there will not be a scenario where he leaves a pitcher in for 145 pitches to finish off a no-hitter, such as Edwin Jackson’s 149-pitch no-no for the D-backs in 2010.

“He knew there was no chance of throwing a no-hitter,” Lovullo said. “I said, ‘Look, if you had 70 pitches, we’d be having a different conversation.’ He understood. He was right in line with it … When I played it was a lot different. It was 135-150 pitches in those situations. But I think we’ve got to protect our players.”

Wednesday marked the first hitless start of Gallen’s career. He has two starts this season of six innings and one hit (May 7 at Cincinnati, June 29 against Oakland).

The Diamondbacks led 4-0 by the time Ginkel entered the game, although San Francisco’s LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a two-run homer that splashed into McCovey Cove off Ginkel to end the shutout.

Four Giants runs scored off the Arizona bullpen, including two more against Justin Martinez in the ninth inning. Martinez struck out Brett Wisely to end the ballgame, as Arizona (79-61) captured the series win.

The offense benefitted from eight walks and another series of misplays from the San Francisco defense, although home runs by Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith helped push the lead out.

"He knew that there was no chance of throwing a no-hitter. I said, 'Look, if you had 70 pitches we'd be having a different conversation.' He understood."

Torey Lovullo on his conversations with Zac Gallen through Gallen's six hitless innings. pic.twitter.com/JhDdRnwpP8

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 5, 2024

Zac Gallen’s rhythm

Outside the 33-pitch second inning, Gallen efficiently used a deep arsenal to miss barrels. Gallen struck out the side in the fourth inning, finishing batters with the slider, changeup and fastball. The Giants managed only four hard-hit balls (95 mph-plus) against Gallen, one of which was the double-play grounder.

Gallen has thrown six shutout innings (with four walks) in two of his last three starts, doing so at Fenway Park on Aug. 24. He allowed five earned runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers between the two gems, as consistent results have evaded Gallen for much of the second half of this season.

Gallen’s ERA since July 4 entering Wednesday’s start was 5.02, albeit with a 3.65 FIP. Arizona has still won eight of his last 12 games pitched. Gallen — along with Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez in particular — being able to string these sorts of performances are key to Arizona’s postseason aspirations.

“I think the offense has carried us the majority of the season,” Gallen said. “But I think when we’re rolling and we’re really dangerous is when the five guys in this rotation are leading us and the offense and bullpen are putting teams away. It starts with us setting the tone and being at our best. We’re really tough to beat when that’s the case.”

Zac Gallen, Nasty 83mph Knuckle Curve. 🔨 pic.twitter.com/PKqINTyyEO

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2024

Gallen used the phrase “getting into a rhythm” several times after the game, and when asked to define it, he said, “You can feel it, everything’s working, command is good … I’m able to make the adjustments delivery-wise within a pitch to maybe three at the most. When I’m not in a rhythm, it’s taking me two innings, taking me a start to correct those adjustments.”

Kelly will get his next crack at getting right, as he has struggled to locate since missing four months with a teres major strain. He takes the mound Thursday as the D-backs look to sweep the series. San Francisco will send out August’s NL Pitcher of the Month Blake Snell.

First pitch is at 12:45 p.m. MST on 98.7 FM and the Arizona Sports app.

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