Zac

Gallen

Gallen punched out five opposing hitters on the day while issuing a pair of walks. He served up a solo homer to Brandon Lowe in the opening inning then kept the Pirates’ offense off the board until the fifth when they scratched out a pair of runs. Joey Bart also tagged him for a solo shot in the sixth. Gallen got 15 swings and misses on 100 pitches on the day, registering a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he brings a 4.70 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and a 25/12 K/BB ratio (38 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Rangers in Arlington.

Not exactly a banner start for Gallen, though it’s his first real blowup since April. Perhaps the shoulder contusion he suffered in his last appearance was bothering him. He managed just five whiffs on 42 swings and gave up eight hard-hit balls. His defense didn’t help him as Ildemaro Vargas let a Carson Kelly pop up drop in the first that led to a third run. Jorge Barrosa allowed an Alex Bregman liner to skip past him to score a few more in the fourth inning. It’s hard to feel confident about starting Gallen in fantasy leagues right now between the lack of strikeouts and the defense behind him. He’ll take on the Pirates next week.

Gallen is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday to confirm that he’s ready to roll, but all signs point to him taking the ball at Wrigley Field later this week. The 30-year-old left Saturday’s start against the Padres down in Mexico City with a shoulder contusion after being hit by a comebacker.

Gallen initially stayed in the game, but the shoulder bruise suffered on a comebacker caused his night to end before the fourth inning. Gallen should be considered day-to-day, but a better idea on if he’ll be able to make his next scheduled start should come in the coming days.

Gallen gave up nine hits while striking out three, so there was a little bit of good fortune in only allowing the pair of runs. Credit to him for getting out of jams, however, and keeping Arizona in a game the Diamondbacks eventually pulled out. Gallen now has a 3.51 ERA on the season, and he’ll have a chance to lower it further next weekend against the Padres.

The 30-year-old right-hander walked one and struck out two on the day. He kept the Phillies off the board through his first five innings of work, but things fell apart for him in the sixth. There, he allowed a leadoff double to Justin Crawford, a two-run blast to Trea Turner, a double to Kyle Schwarber, an RBI double to Bryce Harper and a single to Brandon Marsh before exiting. He was fortunate that none of those inherited runners scored. Gallen got just four swings and misses on 84 offerings, registering a miserable CSW of just 21 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he brings a 3.60 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and an 11/7 K/BB ratio (20 innings) into next weekend’s start against the Blue Jays.

Gallen allowed five hits, walked four and struck out five. The outing threatened to get messy right away, with three straight singles loading the bases with no outs in the first. However, the Mets could get just one run, on a Brett Baty sac fly, afterwards. Gallen has managed a 3.00 ERA through three starts, even though he’s struck out only nine of the 63 hitters he’s faced. He doesn’t seem like a great play with a start in Philadelphia coming up next.

The strikeouts still aren’t there for Gallen, but this was an encouraging start nonetheless. After struggling tremendously last season, he seems to have made a conscious effort to mix more sliders into his repertoire. It was his most thrown pitch against right-handed batters in this one and he did well to keep it low in the zone. It forced plenty of ground balls and weak contact to help push him along without missing many bats. It’s nice to see him actively making adjustments and getting good results while doing so. He’s scheduled to face the Mets and Phillies in a two-start week coming up that won’t be for the faint of heart.

The 30-year-old right-hander struck out two batters on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. He actually blanked the Dodgers through the first four innings, but the wheels fell off for him in the fifth. There, he allowed a pair of singles to start the inning, then served up a three-run homer to Andy Pages. He then allowed a single to Miguel Rojas and walked Shohei Ohtani before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Gallen got nine swings and misses on 76 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll look to bounce back when he does battle against the Tigers on Wednesday.

Nelson will follow Opening Day starter Zac Gallen with Eduardo Rodriguez closing out a three-game series against the Dodgers. It’ll be Michael Soroka and Brandon Pfaadt kicking off their ensuing series against the Tigers. Lovullo confirmed that veteran Merrill Kelly (back) will open the season on the injured list but could return at some point in early April.