Zac Gallen Shared Surprising Fact After Massive D-backs Win

The Arizona Diamondbacks picked up a massive game two win over the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4-3 on Saturday night, behind an excellent effort by right-hander Zac Gallen.

After a shaky two-run first inning, Gallen settled in to throw 103 pitches, complete seven innings and strike out nine batters, all while giving up just three runs and earning the eventual win.

But the most impressive fact? Gallen had been sick all week, coming into Saturday night feeling less than 100%. Gallen spoke to the media after his outing.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen Battling Illness

"Kind of an odd one. Been sick all week, so didn't really think I had much gas in the tank. I feel like that was somewhat apparent," Gallen said.

"[It was] kind of taking its toll on me, but just felt like I needed to go out there and give the guys 100 pretty solid pitches to give them a chance to win. ... If the result's like that and you've got to be sick, I'll take it."

Gallen said he began to run out of energy in the seventh, but didn't want to stick reliever Brandyn Garcia with loaded bases and the dangerous Bryce Harper-Kyle Schwarber tandem coming up.

Gallen emptied the tank, completed the seventh and allowed the bullpen to close the game with two scoreless inning.

"I joked with [catcher James McCann] in the seventh. He came out, took me out on visit, and I was like, 'I'm cooked.' And he's like, 'We've got one more guy.' So made a good pitch to [Harrison] Bader, was able to get us out of the inning and preserve the win," Gallen said.

Manager Torey Lovullo heaped the praise on his starting pitcher for his effort.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo on Zac Gallen

"I think today was all about Zac righting the ship," Lovullo said.

"I thought the fastball started to come to life. The connection between he and McCann continues to be extremely strong, and they just started to sequence really, really well. Between Zac being able to execute, McCann being able to read swings, things took off.

Lovullo called it a "great team win," and gave compliments to the Chase Field crowd.

"A great atmosphere. This crowd was backing us the whole night. And for us to come out and win a baseball game after a tough loss yesterday is one of the great features of this team, where they're able to turn the page, go out, and get the job done," Lovullo said.

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