PHOENIX -- The D-backs really needed Zac Gallen to come out and reestablish order as the stopper of the rotation on Monday night at Chase Field. After all, they’d just suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, and in Gallen’s previous start against the Royals, he had given up six runs.

While it may not have been pretty, Gallen did what he needed to do, leaving the game with a 6-2 lead in the sixth as the D-backs went on to beat the Braves by that same score.

• Box score

The Braves got a run in the top of the first on singles by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Dansby Swanson, followed by a wild pitch that allowed Acuña to score. Their other run came on an Austin Riley opposite-field home run in the fourth inning on a cutter that didn’t cut.

The real fireworks came in the fifth inning. Clinging to a 3-2 lead, thanks to a long three-run shot to right by Pavin Smith in the first inning, Gallen showed rare emotion on the mound. Unhappy with several calls on close pitches during a walk to Acuña leading off the inning, Gallen voiced his displeasure at home-plate umpire John Libka, but then turned around toward center field and walked back up to the rubber.

Unbeknownst to Gallen, Libka had started out toward the mound to confront him. Catcher Jose Herrera jumped out to get in between Libka and Gallen to protect his pitcher, and Libka pointed his finger in Herrera’s face. Manager Torey Lovullo came tearing out of the dugout with his finger trained at Libka, and the skipper was promptly ejected.

“I didn’t like that,” Lovullo said of Libka's finger pointing. “That’s exactly what I didn’t like. At that point, I was going to put my finger out, too. I don’t normally do that, but I was doing it in response to what he was doing. I didn’t like that treatment. I knew I was going to get ejected about 45 feet from [home plate], so about halfway there I was yelling as loud as I could to create a distraction, to put it on me.”

For his part, Gallen was surprised at first by what was going on and how things escalated when he turned around to see all the commotion and his manager getting ejected. But he also heaped lavish praise on his catcher and appreciation for his manager sticking up for him, thanking him in the dugout.

“It speaks volumes to the way that Josey carries himself,” Gallen said of Herrera. “He’s been in the big leagues two months now, and the guy handles himself like he’s been back there 15 years.”

Gallen was acutely aware of the need to be a stopper for the D-backs, as it’s something that he and Lovullo had talked about last year.

“I told him it’s an honor to have that role of you’re the guy that they’re going to give the ball to right out of a skid,” Lovullo said. “It’s your turn to put a stop to that.”

Gallen gave up a double to Marcell Ozuna after the Acuña walk and Lovullo’s ejection, but then Gallen struck out Riley and Matt Olson to end the inning, giving a huge fist pump as he stalked off the mound.

His fired-up teammates responded in kind, putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the inning to send the D-backs on their way to victory.

Gallen’s final line was two runs allowed on seven hits with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.