PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen has been one of baseball's best pitchers the past three seasons, the player the Arizona Diamondbacks could rely on when things weren't go so well.
The Diamondbacks are in a rut and not even their ace has been able to pull them out of it.
Gallen (3-7) labored for the fourth straight start, allowing six runs in less than six innings of a 10-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to be overly critical of Zac because he’s so good and can be an elite, dominant major league pitcher for his next start to the rest of the season, but at this point I know how frustrated he is — I can see it,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “The inconsistencies of results have been there, so it's an indication that he's grinding for sure.”
Gallen has been grinding more this season perhaps more than any other time since he arrived in the desert in 2019.
The right-hander won at least 12 games the previous three seasons — a high of 17 in 2023 — has annually been in the mix for the NL Cy Young Award, finishing third two seasons ago.
Gallen has been dominant at times this season, labored others.
The 29-year-old opened the season by allowing four runs in four innings against the Chicago Cubs, then tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium his next start.
The up and down continued from there.
Gallen had consecutive games of allowing one run in wins over the New York Mets, but also has allowed at least four runs seven times — one more than the entire 2024 season. He has allowed 19 earned runs over 22 innings his last four starts and his 5.54 ERA is on pace to be the highest of his career by more than a run.
The biggest issue: walks.
Gallen has been a pitcher who's around the plate most of his career, yet has struggled at times to find the zone this season. He's walked 32 already this season at a rate of 4.2 per nine innings — well over his career average of 2.9.
Gallen walked three against the Pirates, all to lead off innings. All three scored.
“Obviously, it’s really frustrating because for me, I’m not really trying to walk anybody,” said Gallen, who allowed five earned runs on five hits in five-plus innings. “There pitches I missed by an entire plate, trying to go in and throwing it in the other batter’s box. It just feels very uncharacteristic, in a way, that walks been an issue."
Gallen had been the Arizona's rock, the player they could count on after a difficult loss or stretch of games. He couldn't come through against the Pirates, extending a stretch where nothing seems to be going right for the Diamondbacks.
The loss to the Pirates came a night after Arizona gave up seven runs in the eighth inning of a 9-6 loss to the Pirates. Above .500 since the second game of the season, the Diamondbacks are now 27-28 after their seventh loss in eight games.
“In this game, when you’re down it’ll get you, that’s for sure,” Gallen said. “Obviously, you can’t say keep doing what we’re doing, but just keep plugging away, just kind of keep hitting that rock and one day it will break.”
Based on Gallen's past performances, it's just a matter of time.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
John Marshall, The Associated Press
