Zac Gallen's big year starts slow as Diamondbacks lose Opening Day clash with Cubs
Gallen allowed four runs over four innings in the first outing of his walk year.
PHOENIX — Seven months from now, when the sun has set on another season of Diamondbacks baseball, Zac Gallen — who is slated to become a free agent at season’s end — figures to be one of the most highly sought after pitchers in the sport.
Gallen is 29 years old and has a career 3.32 ERA. His health track record is relatively clean. He is one of the primary reasons that a Diamondbacks club that lost 110 games just four years ago has emerged as a consistent postseason threat.
But on Thursday, in front of 49,070 fans at Chase Field, Gallen did not look the part. In a 10-6 Diamondbacks loss to the Cubs, Gallen allowed four runs in four innings. He walked four, struck out four and allowed four hits. Of his 83 pitches, he threw nearly as many balls (40) as strikes (43).
“It was a tough time getting into a rhythm,” Gallen said. “… For whatever reason, just didn't really feel synced up. I felt like I was moving a little bit too fast through certain points in my delivery.”
At one point in the second inning, Gallen threw 11 consecutive balls. He allowed three runs in that frame, plus a solo homer to Ian Happ in the fourth.
One subpar outing is hardly cause for alarm. But it is noteworthy that an issue that plagued Gallen at times a year ago — poor fastball command — once again reared its head on Thursday.
Out of Gallen’s 43 four-seam fastballs, only 15 were in the strike zone. Out of the 28 four-seamers that were outside the zone, only two got Cubs hitters to chase.
“He's got as good of a down fastball with carry as anybody in the league,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I think maybe the carry wasn't there and there might have been a little bit of a yank. It looked like it was just falling off the plate a tiny bit.”
Gallen is one of the more highly respected starters in the game, but his outing on Thursday could be seen as continuing a larger trend of uneven performance.
After a subpar finish to the 2023 season, Gallen posted a solid 3.65 ERA in 2024, but he completed seven innings in just two of his 28 starts. At the end of the year, Gallen described his season as “really inconsistent.”
This year, during spring training, Gallen spoke with the Arizona Republic about his quest to get back on track. Refining his fastball command was among his top priorities.
Despite his subpar performance on Thursday, Gallen was far from the only reason for the Opening Day loss. The Diamondbacks made several defensive mistakes, including a particularly costly mental error by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo in the fifth.
With runners at first and second and two outs, Perdomo tried to nab speedy Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong at second base on a force out instead of getting a seemingly easy out at first. Crow-Armstrong handily beat the throw, and Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya then blew the game open with a bases-clearing double. A 4-3 Cubs lead ballooned to 7-3. The Diamondbacks were unable to pull closer than three runs the rest of the way.
This was not how the team drew up Opening Day, nor Gallen himself.
Beyond the ramifications for his next contract, Gallen’s performance in 2025 figures go a long way in determining how far the Diamondbacks will go. After the club signed Corbin Burnes over the offseason, the rotation could be one of the best in baseball. However, that rotation still has its share of questions.
Merrill Kelly — who will start Friday’s game against Cubs righty Jameson Taillon — made just 13 starts last year due to a shoulder injury. Eduardo Rodriguez missed significant time with a shoulder injury of his own and posted a subpar 5.04 ERA. Brandon Pfaadt has shown flashes of brilliance, but has yet to put it all together over a full season.
For Gallen, it is much too early to say if Thursday’s outing will be indicative of the kind of season that he will have. But at his best, Gallen has proven to be one of the best starters in the league — the type of pitcher who could combine with Burnes to form a truly elite duo.
“We're counting on him to go out and win a ton of baseball games,” Lovullo said, “and he will. He's going to get into Zac form and go out there and start to dominate. It's just one start. We're going to continue to coach every player, Zac included, to get him back to where he feels at his best.
“He's a very, very important piece of this puzzle. Extremely important.”
Top photo: Getty Images
Glad to see your writing again!!
That was a disappointing start for a team with such high hopes. Not on point at all. I’m hoping what I saw last night was just an anomaly.