D-backs’ Zac Gallen named August National League Pitcher of the Month
Sep 2, 2022, 2:18 PM | Updated: 2:28 pm
Starting pitcher Zac Gallen #23 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on August 30, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed starter Zac Gallen was named the National League Pitcher of the Month on Friday for the month of August.
Gallen went 5-0 (first in NL) with a 0.68 ERA (first), 44 strikeouts (third), 10 walks and a 0.75 WHIP (second) over 40 innings pitched.
The D-backs ace is currently on a streak of 34.1 consecutive scoreless innings, the second longest streak in franchise history behind Brandon Webb’s 42.
“Before the Pittsburgh game, everything kind of synced up with my delivery,” Gallen told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke show on Friday. “Everything’s been timed up pretty well. I’ve been able to make some adjustments on the fly while I’m out there. … I felt like I’ve had pretty good confidence in all my stuff throughout the year.”
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Gallen is the second consecutive Arizona pitcher to win the award after fellow starter Merrill Kelly won the award with a 1.31 ERA, 0.770 WHIP and 4-0 record across 41.1 innings in July.
The last two D-backs pitchers to win back-to-back players of the month was Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2002.
Gallen came over to Arizona in 2019 when the D-backs sent shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm to the Miami Marlins in exchange for the ace.
The righty is currently having the best season of his career by posting a 2.53 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 10-2 record over 25 starts. He currently ranks first in the National League in hits per nine at 6.005 and walks/hits per innings pitched at 0.941.
The 27-year-old is in the last year of his contract before reaching arbitration in 2023.
