Zac Gallen Stumbles Late, D-backs Swept by Reds

The Arizona Diamondbacks were swept out of Cincinnati in a rainy, disjointed weekend of games, losing game three by a score of 4-2. Zac Gallen fell apart late, and the D-backs' bats couldn't put together a rally.

Gallen entered play Sunday with a 5.13 ERA, though he had just delivered an excellent Quality Start against the Atlanta Braves. It appeared he was headed for another seven-inning QS early, but he was bit by a single and two-run homer that ultimately sunk Arizona.

Gallen tossed 6.2 innings, allowing six hits, three walks and four earned runs while punching out five. Unfortunately, three of the six hits were home runs — two solo, and one two-run shot.

Gallen was efficient early, but gave up some hard contact, and was helped out by some solid outfield defense by Alek Thomas.

He was handed an early 2-0 lead, as Eugenio Suárez homered for the second time this series (his 18th of the season) in the second inning. Corbin Carroll later cashed in with an RBI single of his own in the third.

Gallen would give up the lead two innings later after hanging a breaking ball to Jose Trevino. That knotted things up at 2-2.

As if there hadn't been enough poor weather in this series, a rain delay halted the top of the sixth inning. Once play resumed, Gallen went back out, and looked to be back in command. But a single to Jake Fraley and another hanging breaking ball spelled a 4-2 deficit.

The Diamondbacks are 5-0 when Gallen records a Quality Start. With Sunday's loss, they are 0-9 when he does not record one. With right-hand ace Corbin Burnes down for the season needing Tommy John Surgery, the D-backs need Gallen to buckle down and provide more quality innings.

But while Gallen certainly didn't pitch well down the stretch, Arizona's offense did him few favors following the third inning.

The D-backs managed just five hits on the day, and only saw three opportunities with runners in scoring position. Once again, Suárez's homer was the only ball hit for extra bases. Geraldo Perdomo hit into two ground ball double plays from the three-hole.

Arizona's bullpen saw an MLB debut for the second straight game. Left-hander Kyle Backhus, who was called up from Triple-A Reno Sunday morning, delivered an efficient 1-2-3 eighth inning in relief. He collected his first major league strikeout with a back-door slider to catch Elly De La Cruz looking.

The D-backs have now fallen to 31-34, as the Reds improve to an even .500 at 33-33. Arizona will return to Chase Field to play three games agains the Seattle Mariners beginning Monday, once again in need of a few stacked wins to get back on track.

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