Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen named Opening Day starter

The Arizona Diamondbacks named Zac Gallen the starter for Opening Day on March 28 when the Colorado Rockies come to Chase Field to start a four-game series.

It’s the second straight Opening Day with Gallen on the mound but first at home after starting the season at Dodger Stadium in 2023.

Gallen is coming off an All-Star season where he boasted a 17-9 record with a 3.47 ERA in 34 starts. He struck out 9.4 batters per nine innings and only allowed 22 home runs while striking out 220 en route to a third-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.

The D-backs ace told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Monday that he’s ready to move on from spring training.

“It’s getting to that point where I’m like alright, let’s get the real thing going,” Gallen said. “Once you get to that like four inning mark, you’re like alright, I’m pretty close. Let’s go.”

Gallen threw 58 pitches in 4.1 innings and held the Angels scoreless on Sunday, surrendering only one hit and one walk while striking out four.

He said the success of last year’s postseason run gives the team added confidence going forward.

“I can go out there on the biggest stage and make pitches or have a good at-bat or whatever it is,” Gallen said. “You see a lot of guys with some more confidence, and this is a game of failure so you have to have confidence out there even when things are going not the way you want it.”

The last time Gallen was on the mound in a game that counted, he put on a clinic in Game 5 of the World Series, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning.