Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen has something in common with Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland heading into their Tuesday night matchup in Phoenix.
Both hurlers bounced back from rare bad starts in their most recent outings and gave their teams a chance to win.
Freeland (4-5, 3.86 ERA) limited the Miami Marlins to two runs and seven hits over five innings on Thursday and Colorado went on to win 7-6, though Freeland did not receive a decision.
Five days earlier, Freeland lasted just two innings against the Texas Rangers after getting pegged for eight runs (five earned) and nine hits in an 11-5 loss.
“You always want to bounce back as best you can after a bad outing,” Freeland said. “Over those five days in between outings, you’re itching to get back, just because you want the ball. You want to prove yourself and everyone wrong, show that you can rebound well and get your team a win.”
Freeland has made 18 starts against the Diamondbacks in his career and is 3-7 with a 5.34 ERA.
Gallen (6-2, 2.97) pitched well enough to beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday but didn’t get any help from the bullpen, and the Diamondbacks lost 6-5 in 10 innings.
Gallen held the Phillies to two runs and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. After bringing a 5-0 lead into the sixth inning, he departed with two on base and two outs. Two batters later, the Phillies had cut the deficit to 5-3.
Gallen was still in line for the victory when Philadelphia hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to tie the score 5-5 and eventually win an inning later.
“As a starter, I’ve got to go deeper in the game and slam the door,” Gallen said.
Gallen also said the team needs to be better at holding big leads.
“There’s just things that really good teams do that tend to be successful,” Gallen said. “When you’ve got a team down, you’ve got to put them away.”
Five days before facing the Phillies, Gallen surrendered eight runs (five earned) and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings of 13-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Gallen hasn’t been as sharp in May (2-1, 4.03) as he was in April (4-0, 1.09), when he had four straight games in which he didn’t allow a run and pitched at least 6 1/3 innings.
Gallen has pitched well against the Rockies in his career, going 5-1 in 12 starts with a 2.66 ERA.
Arizona should have a fresh bullpen after Drey Jameson threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in a 7-5 win in the series opener on Monday.
Andrew Chafin got the final out for his eighth save and only threw six pitches.
“He took a lot of pressure off the bullpen,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of Jameson, who was recalled on Saturday after spending a month at Triple-A Reno. “We’re looking for more of those types of outings from our guys and we’re getting them.”
–Field Level Media
