*Photo from Arizona Sports*
Skid? What are you talking about? Christian Walker started the scoring, Zac Gallen was strong on the mound, and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Cleveland Guardians with a 5-1 victory on Friday night in Phoenix.
Having lost 3 straight games, the D-Backs used a balanced attack at the plate and strong pitching from Gallen to get back in the win column at home. Gallen was pumping in his fastball in the mid 90's early in the game, amid concerns about his velocity.
Gallen said of the talk about his velocity that "I think somebody said it raised alarms. Just silly articles, I guess. I think we can put that to rest. I felt like the ball was coming out of my hand a little bit better, certainly feel a little bit of a semblance of how I wanted to feel."
Walker gave the D-Backs an early lead in the game, cranking an RBI double in the first inning that scored Ketel Marte. In the second, Jake McCarthy scored on a sac fly from Geraldo Perdomo, doubling the D-Backs lead to 2-0. Jose Ramirez got the Guardians on the board in the 4th inning thanks to a solo home run.
Pavin Smith helped the D-Backs build their lead again, making it 3-1 in the 6th inning with an RBI single. Later in the inning, Smith scored on a double from Corbin Carroll, pushing the lead to 4-1. In the 7th inning, Marte added on an RBI single, which brought home Josh Rojas to make the score 5-1 in favor of the D-Backs.
On the mound, Gallen was sharp as he got the win to improve to 8-2 on the season. Gallen allowed one run on 6 hits, striking out 7 hitters in 7 innings pitched. Andrew Chafin followed with a scoreless 8th, with Scott McGough doing the same in the 9th to seal the win.
D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo said of Gallen's start that "I told him after the first inning that he set an unbelievable tone with his fastball and just the command of that pitch, and I just felt his presence. And the velocity was not an issue. I know we've been talking about that, you've asked me a lot of questions about it. Check it off. It’s off the board now."
Starting for the Guardians was Touki Toussaint, making a spot start from Triple A. Toussaint pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on 3 hits and 5 walks on short notice. Xzavion Curry and Enyel De Los Santos threw 1 2/3 innings each before Sam Hentges pitched a scoreless inning.
Toussaint, who was last in the majors in September of 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels, said after the game that "I’m a competitor, so it feels good. I didn't go as long as I wanted to, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction."
Up next, the series continues in Phoenix on Saturday night. Tommy Henry takes the mound for the D-Backs, while the Guardians counter with Shane Bieber.
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