Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo had a simple message for his team after a one-run home loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
“We gotta get going,” he said. “It’s time right now. We gotta start playing some good baseball, very consistent baseball.”
Based on their performance on Monday night, Lovullo’s players received the message. They walloped the Padres 8-0 to start a four-game series between National League playoff hopefuls and will look for another win on Tuesday night in San Diego.
For the Diamondbacks to make any headway toward their goal of playing October baseball, they will need a lot more than they have been getting from Zac Gallen (3-8, 6.36 ERA), who is scheduled to start on Tuesday. He’s allowed a whopping 20 runs over 16 1/3 innings in his past three starts, including six runs during a 6-4 loss Wednesday at home against the San Francisco Giants.
Gallen sailed through four scoreless innings before yielding three runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. He permitted seven hits and a walk and struck out four. In 16 career starts against San Diego, Gallen is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA.
If Monday night’s game means anything, Gallen might receive some margin for error. The Diamondbacks notched 11 hits, getting an RBI single and three-run homer from Max Kepler. Geraldo Perdomo and Nolan Arenado cracked solo homers.
With four teams to leapfrog to reach the final NL wild-card spot, Arizona needs to emerge from its recent funk that saw it post a 5-9 mark prior to the series opener in San Diego.
“We just have to keep winning games, that’s it,” pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez said. “We’ll see after that, but for now, we just have to keep winning series and games.”
The same can be said of the Padres, who snapped an eight-game losing streak Sunday with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers but reverted to their old ways on Monday.
San Diego trailed 1-0 three pitches into the game and simply couldn’t piece together much of anything. From committing two first-inning errors to getting another poor start and taking just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position, the Padres excelled in no facet of the game.
“Didn’t look good, doesn’t feel good, doesn’t taste good,” manager Craig Stammen said postgame. “Got to wash that one out.”
The Padres are expected to use right-hander German Marquez (3-2, 5.79 ERA) as an opener on Tuesday, with Jhony Brito likely to get the call as the bulk reliever.
Marquez was activated from the 15-day injured list last week after missing two months due to right forearm nerve irritation. He pitched three innings in a 12-7 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday, allowing two runs on a pair of hits and three walks.
Brito was recalled from his rehab assignment at Triple-A El Paso on Monday. He has not pitched in the majors since Aug. 10, 2024.
Brito missed the 2025 season after undergoing elbow surgery. In four rehab starts at El Paso, he was 1-1 with an 0.96 ERA in 18 2/3 innings, striking out 19 and walking nine. He also posted a 2-0 record with a 1.96 ERA and eight strikeouts with five walks in 18 1/3 innings at Double-A San Antonio.
In his career, Brito has a 3.86 ERA, with no decisions, in five relief appearances against Arizona.
“It’s exciting to be back,” he said through an interpreter. “I feel like I can contribute however the team needs me.”
–Field Level Media
