After a hamstring injury left him on the sidelines for a month, Arizona Diamondbacks' ace Zac Gallen made a triumphant return to the mound, pitching a near-flawless game to lead his team to a 3-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics, as detailed in a report by FOX 10 Phoenix. Gallen's impressive performance, spanning six innings and allowing just one hit, played a pivotal role in snapping the Diamondbacks' three-game losing streak.
Gallen's stint was efficient he threw 77 pitches, 50 for strikes while registering seven strikeouts and yielding a solitary walk, the only hit he surrendered came in the form of Brent Rooker’s single in the first inning, in a game that saw the Diamondbacks battle through, leaving 11 runners stranded; Diamondbacks' manager Torey Lovullo praised his pitcher, stating "He was landing every pitch that he possibly could. It was exactly what we needed," in remarks captured by FOX 10 Phoenix.
At the plate, key performances came from Ketel Marte and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Marte going 3-for-4 with an RBI and Gurriel adding a double and an RBI, providing enough offensive backing to allow Arizona's pitching to cement the win, the Diamondbacks had struggled with offensive consistency but managed to secure their first victory with as few as three runs since late May as reported by Arizona Sports.
The return of Gallen, considered the team's most reliable starter, is a boon for the Diamondbacks who have wrestled with injuries within their pitching staff, with Gallen noting a personal responsibility to his team, having said, "I was trying to get back as fast as I really could, come back and help the boys, get back in my spot in the rotation and do my job, give us a chance to win every every five days," according to his interview with Arizona Sports.
A controversial moment in the game arose from an umpire's call on Christian Walker’s hit, contested by Lovullo, which after review resulted in the hit being ruled fair, although it did not immediately lead to runs; the strangeness of the situation was captured by Lovullo's statement, "He said that I can’t argue. We spent most of the time arguing why I couldn’t argue," as he told Arizona Sports.
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