Gallen rediscovers winning mix against Nats

PHOENIX -- D-backs starter Zac Gallen was in complete control for seven masterful innings on Friday night. The right-hander had great command of his entire four-pitch mix, and he was using all of those offerings to baffle the Nationals’ hitters.

Gallen can count on one hand the number of times he’s felt like that in 2022.

“You can probably guess it was more so early in the year, when everything started well,” he said. “But as of late -- the last six, seven starts, probably -- it was the first time in a while.”

It led to a terrific showing for Gallen, who took a no-hitter into the sixth and helped Arizona start the second half on a positive note with a 10-1 victory at Chase Field. He retired 21 of the 24 Washington batters he faced, while allowing only two hits to go with seven strikeouts and zero walks to earn his first win since May 30.

Gallen (5-2) looked much more like the version of himself who had a 0.95 ERA over his first five starts and was 4-0 with a 2.32 ERA through nine outings at the end of May, rather than the one who posted a 4.98 ERA during an eight-start winless streak to finish the first half of the season.

“He was looking like he could potentially throw a no-hitter,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

However, that no-no bid ended on a challenging play for Gallen with two outs in the sixth. Nats leadoff man César Hernández sent a broken-bat flare back toward the mound, but it had only an exit velocity of 51.5 mph, per Statcast. Gallen tried to make a play on it, though it was tricky because he was still coming out of his pitching motion.

“Those are weird, just because I finish so far across my body, I’m looking out of the corner of my eye,” Gallen said. “Anytime you’re right there, you think he hits it 110 mph. I heard the bat break, so I’m like, ‘All right, I know it’s going to be slow,’ and I was still having trouble just waiting for it, because it gets there and knuckles.”

The ball tipped off Gallen’s glove, then he hurried to try to retrieve it from behind the mound. However, there wasn’t enough time to nab Hernández at first. Instead, Gallen stranded him there, getting Keibert Ruiz to ground out to first to end the sixth.

Gallen gave up another single to Juan Soto leading off the seventh. But he never allowed Washington to get a runner into scoring position, as Gallen retired the next three batters to cap his stellar 97-pitch outing.

Arizona catcher Carson Kelly had nothing but praise for Gallen after working with him to carve through the Nats’ lineup -- well, except for one piece of friendly constructive criticism for upcoming pitchers’ fielding practices.

“We’re going to work on some slow PFPs, the slow line drives, I think we should work on those tomorrow,” Kelly joked. “But other than that, I think he did a tremendous job. ... When you get a guy that has the command that he has and the stuff that he has, and when they’re both clicking, it’s really, really special.”

Lovullo praised how Gallen established his four-seam fastball, then successfully mixed in the rest of his arsenal. Gallen threw his heater 43 times, generating whiffs on eight of the 18 swings against the pitch. He tossed his knucklecurve, changeup and cutter 18 times apiece.

No matter which offering Gallen threw, Washington couldn’t figure it out. And it also didn’t help that he was operating at such a quick tempo.

“It seemed like right when my inning was done, he was already at a couple outs out there,” said Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, who allowed five runs in five innings against his former team. “Just making quality pitches, getting ahead. He's been really good for them."

Early in the year, Gallen was building a case for a first career All-Star selection. His inconsistent June kept him from getting an invitation to the festivities that took place in Los Angeles earlier this week.

Instead, Gallen used the break to rest and recharge. He wasn’t sure what to expect heading into his return to the mound, though, considering he hadn’t pitched since July 13 and he was out of his schedule. So in his terms, he kept it simple.

“I was just trying to go out there and not do too much,” Gallen said. “I guess it all kind of fell into place.”

That was certainly true. Now, if Gallen gets back into the rhythm he showcased at the start of the season, this could be the beginning of a special second half for the D-backs’ ace.