SAN FRANCISCO — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen threw six hitless innings in a 6-4 win against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, although his pitch count did not allow him to attempt a no-hitter.
Gallen threw 100 pitches, and Arizona turned to Kevin Ginkel to start the seventh inning. The no-hit bid ended right there, as San Francisco shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald singled up the middle on Ginkel’s second pitch.
Preventing Gallen from working deeper into the game were four walks, including three in a row to the bottom of the Giants order during the second inning. Those four counts went full, racking up a total of 31 pitches.
Zac Gallen registers his 8th strikeout of the game with his 100th pitch.
Oh by the way, he has not allowed a hit through six innings 😳 pic.twitter.com/5wyJkCcJmq
— MLB (@MLB) September 5, 2024
After the three walks, Gallen had Giants catcher Curt Casali in another 3-2 count but struck him out on a curveball out of the zone.
From there, Gallen punched out four of the next six batters and retired nine in a row before walking Mike Yastrzemski in the sixth inning. Yastrzemski was quickly wiped away by a double play ball, and Gallen struck out Michael Conforto with high cheddar to end his outing.
The Diamondbacks led 4-0 by the time Ginkel entered the game, although San Francisco’s LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a two-run homer that splashed into McCovey Cove off Ginkel to end the shutout.
Outside the 33-pitch second inning, Gallen efficiently used a deep arsenal to miss barrels. Gallen struck out the side in the fourth inning, finishing batters with the slider, changeup and fastball.
He upped his changeup and curveball usage, which racked up swing-and-miss and kept the ball out of play. The Giants managed only four hard-hit balls (95 mph-plus) against Gallen, one of which was the double play grounder.
Wednesday marked the first hitless start of Gallen’s career (major or minor leagues) dating back to 2016. He has had two starts this season of six innings and one hit (May 7 at Cincinnati, June 29 against Oakland).
Zac Gallen, Nasty 83mph Knuckle Curve. 🔨 pic.twitter.com/PKqINTyyEO
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2024
Gallen has thrown six shutout innings (with four walks) in two of his last three starts, doing so at Fenway Park against the Red Sox on Aug. 24. He allowed five earned runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers between the two gems, as consistent results have evaded Gallen for much of the second half of this season.
Gallen’s ERA since July 4 entering Wednesday’s start was 5.02, albeit with a 3.65 FIP. Arizona still won seven of his last 11 games pitched.
His season ERA dropped from 3.87 to 3.69.
Four Giants runs scored off the Arizona bullpen, including two more against Justin Martinez in the ninth inning. Martinez struck out Brett Wisely to end the ballgame.
Arizona improved to 79-61.
