How Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen Rediscovered Ace Form

The 2025 season has not been kind to Arizona Diamondbacks' right-hander Zac Gallen. Fans need no reminder.

Gallen needs no reminder, either. The former ace had his colloquial description altered to include that "former" moniker long before the D-backs' season appeared to be in jeopardy.

But perhaps Gallen is on the path to erase that new adjective. In the month of August, he threw to a stellar 2.57 ERA over five starts, then followed up with a six-inning shutout against the Texas Rangers to open September.

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Perhaps he's simply pitching with a renewed confidence, knowing the threat of the Trade Deadline is no longer present.

But according to Gallen, that confidence was something he never lost.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen On Recent Resurgence

"Inner confidence [is] something that I don't necessarily lack. I know this game is a hard game, and I feel like the longer you play it, it gets a little bit harder, especially from a pitcher's standpoint," Gallen said.

The righty said the most frustrating results were the ones that ruined a previously-solid game.

"The frustrating ones were the good outings through five, six innings, and give up a late extra base hit to sour a line, sour a chance for us to win the game.

"But for me, I'm intrinsically motivated no matter what, and just know that, when it's not going great, which is part of the game, you've just got to keep fighting through it and come out on the other side."

So what does Gallen owe this resurgence to, now that he once again looks like the ace that helped bring his team to the World Series in 2023.

"For me, just taking a step back, doing a self-audit of understanding what's been working, what hasn't been working, things I could do a little bit more of, a little bit less of [has[ been the key to success right now," he said.

"Even I felt like before the trade deadline, I was able to just get in the strike zone a little bit more. ... for whatever reason [at the beginning of the year], lack of command was showing up, getting me behind the count.

"I think now I've just kind of been in the strike zone a little bit more, trusted in some different pitches and different counts to be able to bail me out of trouble when I'm behind."

Gallen also cited his four-seam fastball — a pitch that has had as up-and-down a year as Gallen himself — as a factor in his recent stretch.

"Being able to kind of get that good fastball back, I think it's no secret I tend to pitch off my fastball. ... I think I've had a pretty decent fastball the last six or seven outings or so, and that tends to make my job just a little bit easier," Gallen said.

The Diamondbacks may be all but mathematically eliminated, but Gallen said that (however small) chance remains a motivational tool — not just for him, but for the whole team.

"We're still playing for something in here," Gallen said. "For me, that's where the confidence and the motivation comes from. We're not out of it just yet."

"I know from a statistical standpoint our chances of getting in the playoffs are slim, but everybody in here knows they don't say zero. So for us, we're still alive, until we're not," Gallen said.

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