Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen departed Thursday night’s game against the host New York Mets after six pitches due to a right hamstring strain.
Gallen will return to the Phoenix area on Friday for further tests.
Gallen said after Thursday’s 3-2 loss that he hurt the hamstring while allowing a leadoff single to Francisco Lindor on the fifth pitch. It didn’t become clear that Gallen was hurt until his first offering to ensuing hitter DJ Stewart.
“Just hamstring grabbed on me,” Gallen said of the pitch to Lindor. “So threw another pitch to see if it was severe in the sense of if I could keep pitching or not.”
After Gallen noticeably hopped after the pitch to Stewart and gingerly walked around the mound, manager Torey Lovullo, pitching coach Brent Strom and Arizona trainers headed out for a discussion. Gallen was pulled and partially limped to the dugout.
Lovullo didn’t rule out a trip to the 15-day injured list for Gallen.
“We’re going to get him back to Arizona,” Lovullo said. “We feel comfortable doing that and we feel like that’s the safest bet to get the right evaluation and get more detail on exactly what he’s feeling.
“It’s not great news. I’m not going to lie, and we will eventually find out what the solutions are.”
This is the second time a hamstring issue has hampered Gallen this season. He left a start against the Seattle Mariners on April 26 in the sixth inning due to right hamstring tightness and missed his next start.
“A little bit different,” Gallen said when comparing the injuries. “The one in Seattle was a little bit more minor. This one is mild, I guess.
“I don’t really know the scale (of it). I just knew that I just couldn’t keep going or I would put the team in jeopardy of not giving them a chance to win.”
Gallen, 28, was making his 11th start of the season. He is 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings.
Last season, Gallen finished third in the National League Cy Young Award balloting. He went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA and 220 strikeouts in 210 innings over 34 starts.
–Field Level Media
