Zac Gallen stretched his scoreless innings streak to 21 2/3 with seven shutout innings against the visiting San Diego Padres on Friday night, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-0 victory.
Gallen allowed two hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts to improve to 3-1 on the season. Gallen, who hasn’t allowed a run since the Padres scored two against him in the fifth inning on April 4 in San Diego, threw 96 pitches with 67 for strikes.
Miguel Castro and Joe Mantiply completed the two-hit shutout.
Catcher Gabriel Moreno went 3-for-4 in support of Gallen with three RBIs, including a two-run single in the Diamondbacks’ seven-run eighth.
Gallen came out on top in a pitching duel with the Padres’ Seth Lugo (2-1), who gave up two runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings.
Arizona scored the game’s first run in the fourth. Christian Walker doubled with one out, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Moreno’s two-out, infield single. Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim made a diving stop of Moreno’s sharp ground behind second, but his throw was a step late.
Josh Rojas singled with one out in the fifth and came around on Ketel Marte’s double to the wall in right center.
The Diamondbacks broke the game open in the eighth against relievers Luis Garcia and Reiss Knehr. Marte opened the inning with a line drive off Garcia’s right leg that ricocheted out to short for an infield single. Corbin Carroll followed with a single and Marte scored on a single by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Moreno hit a two-run single after Pavin Smith walked to load the bases. Knehr entered the game to walk Alek Thomas to re-load the bases ahead of Geraldo Perdomo’s two-run double and RBI singles by Rojas and Marte.
Xander Bogaerts doubled over the head of Arizona right fielder Carroll leading off the second but didn’t advance. Gallen then retired 14 straight Padres before Fernando Tatis Jr. lined a single to left with two out in the sixth. It was the first hit of the season for Tatis, who returned from an 80-game PED suspension Thursday.
Gallen is the first starting pitcher to have double-digit strikeouts against the Padres this season. He struck out five straight from the fourth to six innings.
–Field Level Media
