Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen exits loss vs. Mets after 6 pitches

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen came off the field with training staff six pitches into his start Thursday against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The club later disclosed Gallen suffered a right hamstring strain in Arizona’s 3-2 loss.

Gallen allowed a single to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and threw one pitch to D.J. Stewart. On the follow through, he hopped up and gingerly walked around the mound. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez went to the hill, and pitching coach Brent Strom, manager Torey Lovullo and training staff convened at the mound.

Zac Gallen left tonight’s game with an apparent injury pic.twitter.com/j0u4NrdXsM

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 30, 2024

“Hamstring grabbed on me, so I threw another pitch to see if it was severe and sense if I could keep pitching or not, if it was more like a cramp,” Gallen said. “Just knew that I couldn’t really keep going or if I did I would put the team in jeopardy of not giving them a chance to win.”

Right-hander Bryce Jarvis entered out of the bullpen, as the Diamondbacks would have to piece together 27 outs with relievers.

This is the second time this season Gallen exited a game early. He left a start at the Seattle Mariners in the sixth inning on April 26 with right hamstring tightness.

He mentioned the hamstring again following an outing against the Tigers after Detroit starter Jack Flaherty dug out the mound and Gallen had the grounds crew fill it back in.

Gallen said on the Diamondbacks’ postgame show Thursday the feeling was similar to 2021, when he spent a couple weeks on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.

Zac Gallen is headed back to AZ for further evaluation on his hamstring.

— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) May 31, 2024

“We’re going to get him back to Arizona. We feel comfortable doing that and we feel like that’s the safest bet to get the right evaluation and get more detail on exactly what he’s feeling,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s not great news. I’m not going to lie, and we will eventually find out what the solutions are.”

The Diamondbacks have had to operate with a depleted rotation, as big-ticket free agent signing Eduardo Rodriguez (shoulder) has yet to make his debut and Merrill Kelly (shoulder) has been on the injured list since April 20.

The bullpen largely held its own until the seventh inning on Thursday. Justin Martinez gave Arizona 3.0 scoreless innings, and Arizona led 2-1 through six frames.

The Mets, though, tied the game in the seventh inning with a Francisco Lindor RBI single off Ryan Thompson (charged to Joe Mantiply). Lindor went 4-for-4.

J.D. Martinez hit the game-wining home run in the eighth off Thompson.

The D-backs’ offense, meanwhile, recorded four hits and none after the fourth inning.

Arizona (25-31) has dropped four straight games in which it scored six runs.

New York (23-33) stopped a four-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 10 games. The Mets have won 20 of their last 24 games against the Diamondbacks and 16 of their last 18 against Arizona at Citi Field.

Diamondbacks injury updates

Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, sidelined since April 3 by a torn right meniscus, is set to play his first rehab game Friday as a designated hitter in Arizona Complex League. Perdomo and center fielder Alek Thomas, out since March 31 with a strained left hamstring, each had 10 at-bats during drills Wednesday.

Kelly is to start a throwing program next week. Reliever Miguel Castro (right shoulder inflammation) is throwing from 75 feet. Reliever Luis Frías (right shoulder inflammation) may pitch in an ACL game next week, possibly Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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