Gallen dazzles with 1-hit outing in G1

April 25th, 2021

Zac Gallen flirted with a no-hitter while tossing a complete game in the D-backs’ 5-0 win over the Braves in the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Truist Park.

He did not allow a hit until Freddie Freeman singled to right-center with one out in the sixth inning. The right-hander was dominant throughout, walking two while striking out six.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Major League Baseball’s official statistician, neither a team nor an individual pitcher will be credited with a no-no in a scheduled seven-inning game of a doubleheader -- unless that game goes to extras. If the contest extends to at least nine innings and that pitcher (or a team’s group of pitchers) has still not allowed a hit, then it goes down in the history books as a no-no.

"He's got three good pitches that he commands and moves around,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He doesn't let you eliminate a pitch. His stuff is good."

Gallen was helped on defense by center fielder Nick Heath, who nabbed Dansby Swanson’s liner to the gap in left-center in the fourth inning.

Per Statcast, Heath’s grab was a four-star catch with a 35 percent catch probability. He covered 86 feet in 4.7 seconds.

Stephen Vogt and Kole Calhoun each homered for the D-backs.