D-backs’ Zac Gallen exits during at-bat vs. Mariners; 2 minor leaguers also sustain injuries

The injuries keep coming for players in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization, as ace Zac Gallen had to leave Friday’s series-opening 6-1 loss to the Mariners in Seattle.

Gallen entered the sixth inning having surrendered just two runs to that point but had to be taken out during an at-bat against Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez with right hamstring tightness.

Hoping for the best for Zac Gallen. Here's the full sequence in its entirety. pic.twitter.com/7OUZ6JlxU1

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) April 27, 2024

Scott McGough came in to replace Gallen and gave up a grand slam to Mitch Haniger in short order to give Seattle a commanding 6-1 lead.

Manager Torey Lovullo said postgame he hopes Gallen won’t need to miss any time.

“Just a right hamstring spasm and I think we really dodged a bullet,” Lovullo said. “Credit him. It’s hard to pull back in those situations and understand what you body is feeling and call out your catcher. I think he’s hopefully going to be fine. We’re going to continue to evaluate him and no other signs of anything greater.”

Lovullo said it was hard not to have thoughts of the worst-case scenario while walking out to check on Gallen.

“I can’t help myself. It’s human nature with everything we’ve been going through over the past three, four weeks, plus,” Lovullo said.

Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez are two starting pitchers already on the injured list for the Diamondbacks.

Who in the D-backs’ farm system was injured on Friday?

Two of the D-backs’ top prospects ran into issues on Friday, including infielder Tommy Troy and pitcher Yu-Min Lin.

Troy will miss four-to-six weeks with a hamstring strain, Arizona farm director Shaun Larkin told PHNX Sports Friday. Lin was in the dugout when he was hit by a foul line-drive, leaving the game with paramedics, according to PHNX Sports.

Playing for the Hillsboro Hops in High-A, Troy has appeared in 12 games this season, hitting .184 over 49 at-bats. He tallied nine hits (one home run and two doubles) and stole five bases.

Troy appeared in five games with the big-league club during spring training, where he had one hit in seven at-bats.

Arizona drafted the 22-year-old infielder 12th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Stanford, where he slashed .339/.411/.603 over three seasons with 34 home runs and 109 RBIs in 162 games.

Troy came into 2024 ranked as the D-backs’ second-best prospect, according to MLB.com, behind Jordan Lawlar, a fellow infield prospect who is dealing with an injured thumb.

Lin, who ranks fourth among the organization’s prospects and first among pitchers, has started four games in Double-A Amarillo this season, surrendering 14 earned runs in 18 innings.

He boasts a 10.5-2.5 strikeouts to walks per nine innings, and he’s only given up two home runs out of 84 batters faced.

He signed with Arizona as a 18-year-old from Taiwan in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.