The good and the not-so-good from Zac Gallen in Diamondbacks’ loss to Pirates

PHOENIX — Zac Gallen was one good pitch away from a quality start on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, which would have been the third straight from the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation.

After a frustrating fifth inning, Gallen had one out to get, but he hung a slider to Joey Bart. The ball just scraped over the left-field wall, giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead in a 4-2 series-clinching win at Chase Field.

For Gallen, Thursday’s game had a mix of promising signs and failures to execute that resulted in an underwhelming six inning-, four-run pitching line.

The good:

Gallen drew a season-high 15 whiffs (swings-and-misses), nine with his slider and six with the curveball (none with the fastball), according to Statcast. Gallen’s arsenal has changed this year. His curveball does not drop like it used to, and he has replaced it as his primary breaking ball with a slider that has been more effective.

Coming into Thursday, Gallen’s overall whiff rate on the year was 16.5%, way below his career and the league’s average (both at 25%). The slider has been his best pitch at missing bats.

He had that pitch working, except for a couple of hangers that he paid for.

Strikeouts in general have been hard to come by, and he matched a season high on Thursday with five.

The not-so-good:

Gallen allowed two solo home runs, which has not been an issue this year. Home runs were a massive problem for him last season, but he entered Thursday having given up two through his first seven starts.

And two solo home runs were not the only culprit on Thursday. The fifth inning was the bigger cause for frustration.

Gallen recorded two quick outs before Brandon Lowe — who hit the first home run — singled. Gallen walked the next hitter to put a runner in scoring position, and two singles later, the D-backs were trailing 3-2. It took Gallen 33 pitches to get out of it.

“I feel like for the most part I had pretty good stuff, pretty decent command,” Gallen said. “Just for whatever reason, I couldn’t really execute, especially with two strikes, in the fifth inning.”

“Some things to hang my hat on, but I feel like I pitched better than what my line suggests,” he added.

Overall, Gallen didn’t look awful, and the swing-and-miss stuff was way better than usual when looking at this season as a whole. But he did not get away with a few mistakes, the two-out walk standing out as a killer. His ERA climbed to 4.70.

It did not help that he received little run support, as Arizona’s offense was quiet for a second straight game.

Diamondbacks frustrating at-bats continue

Paul Skenes shut the D-backs down on Wednesday, and Mitch Keller was very good to follow him.

The D-backs’ initial response started out well enough, as they scored a couple runs in the first three innings. They capitalized on a lead-off Geraldo Perdomo walk with an RBI single from Adrian Del Castillo in the first inning.

Corbin Carroll went yard in the third, his first home run and extra-base hit of May.

From there, near silence. Arizona worked four walks but only collected five hits — two from Carroll.

Chasing pitches outside the strike zone continued to be an issue, one that manager Torey Lovullo singled out postgame.

“This game is hard … but we’re making it way harder than we should be,” Lovullo said.

“We’ve got to get back to our basics and the things we really believe in. And that is digging in, especially with two strikes, not giving in through the course of the at-bat, handing it off. Swing at strikes, first of all. And once you get to the two-strike situation, being able to get back in counts, create count leverage and just be an SOB up there.”

The D-backs have scored two runs or fewer in five of the last nine games. They entered Thursday with the third-highest chase rate in the league, a lingering issue that goes against the team identity built over the past several seasons.

“You can’t go up there and tell somebody, don’t chase,” Lovullo said. “You’ve got to be in a good hitting position to see the baseball and see the baseball your way out of this. That’s not a complete sentence. I know that. But see the baseball your way out of this.”

The Diamondbacks have played five consecutive series without winning a set, a grinding stretch as the quarter-mark of the schedule approaches.

The D-backs have also lost six of seven games. They have fallen to 17-19, having to fight to get back to .500.

“Baseball’s a tough game, and I think we’re just not firing on all cylinders right now,” Gallen said. 

On a more positive note, the bullpen threw two scoreless innings, getting through the series without allowing a run.

Next up, Mets-Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks host the New York Mets for three games, starting Friday night, and they will see two tough arms to begin the matchup.

Pitching probables:

Friday: Ryne Nelson (1-3. 6.61) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (1-2, 2.97)

Saturday: Merrill Kelly (1-3, 9.95) vs. RHP Clay Holmes (4-2, 1.69)

Sunday: Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 2.50) vs. TBA

The opener starts at 6:40 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

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