Fletcher, Gallen lead D-backs to 2nd win in 2 nights over Giants

PHOENIX – Dominic Fletcher continued his tear, Zac Gallen tossed his longest outing of the season and the Arizona Diamondbacks (22-18) beat the San Francisco Giants (17-22) 7-2 on Saturday in front of 25,147 fans at Chase Field.

With the score 1-1 with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning, Fletcher came up to bat. The rookie right fielder drove a ball to right center field which cleared the bases. The 3-RBI triple was the first of Fletcher’s young career and proved to be the game-winning hit.

In the eighth inning with the D-backs up 5-2, a runner on and two outs, Fletcher again drove a ball deep to right field. Originally called a triple, it was reviewed and determined to be a home run. The two-run blast provided the D-backs insurance and put them up 7-2 heading to the ninth inning.

Fletcher’s great day at the dish continued an amazing start to his MLB career. After Saturday’s 2-for-4, five-RBI performance, Fletcher is now hitting .462 with a 1.232 OPS in his first 12 big league games.

The 25-year-old has multi-hit games in the three games so far in the series against San Francisco. He was 3-for-4 on Thursday with two RBIs and 3-for-4 with four RBIs in Friday’s game before Saturday’s terrific day at the plate.

Upon review: this Dominic Fletcher kid is pretty dang good. 😳 pic.twitter.com/U6zqstoGUv

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 14, 2023

Fletcher discussed why he thinks he is having so much success in MLB so soon.

“I think it’s just a comfort with my teammates, the coaching staff and the training staff,” Fletcher told reporters postgame.

“Everybody here has done such a good job (to) welcome me in. And just being comfortable and playing hard and playing to win.”

Hitting was not the only part of the game Fletcher excelled in on Saturday. He also aided Gallen’s outing with a great defensive play in the first inning. Giants third baseman J.D. Davis drove a pitch deep to left field. Fletcher caught the ball like a wide receiver catching a Hail Mary in football and then fired it to first baseman Christian Walker. Walker caught the throw before Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. was able to get back to first base. The play ended the inning and held the Giants to just one run in the frame.

“It was Dom’s night,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said postgame.

“The big three-run triple, the big two-run home run. He’s just barreling baseballs. Not to be forgotten was the defensive play that he made that kept that first inning at one run.”

As for Gallen, he threw 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six. With the win, the D-backs’ ace is now 6-1 on the season with a 2.35 ERA. His ERA could have been lower if a fluky play in the first inning did not lead to an earned run. A wild pitch allowed Giants leadoff hitter Thairo Estrada to reach first despite being struck out. He eventually scored on a sacrifice fly.

“I was in the zone early,” Gallen said. “They were fairly aggressive it seemed like. … I was just trying to stay in attack mode really. Kind of doing the math on pitches. Just trying to get (as) deep into the game as possible.”

Fletcher and Gallen were not the only D-backs making major impacts on Saturday. Second baseman Ketel Marte used his speed to score from second base on a wild pitch in the eighth inning. The run made the game 5-2 and furthered the team’s cause.

Up Next

The D-backs go for the series win on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Rookie Brandon Pfaadt (0-1, 12.10 ERA) will pitch for the D-backs against San Francisco righty Logan Webb (3-5, 3.46 ERA). The game can be heard on the Arizona Sports app, 98.7 and ArizonaSports.com.