Zac Gallen’s Poor Start Halts Diamondbacks' Momentum

Zac Gallen took the mound on Monday night against the Astros with a chance to help extend the D-backs winning streak to five games, increase his free agent stock, and maybe even increase his trade value.

He did none of those things, buckling under an avalanche of hard contact in Houston's 6-3 victory over Arizona.

Rookie second baseman Brice Matthews came into the game batting 1-for-12, .083. But he caught a fastball at the top of the zone and drove it over the left field wall for a three-run homer in the second inning.

That erased a 1-0 Diamondbacks lead thanks to a Corbin Carroll RBI base hit, driving in Ketel Marte from second base.

Christian Walker made his return to Chase Field, and hit a 427-foot double off the railing of the home run porch, driving in a run in the third inning.

Gallen settled down for three scoreless innings after that, but in the seventh inning gave up Matthews' second homer of the game, a two-run blast to left field, chasing Gallen from the mound trailing 6-3.

Of the 20 balls put in play against the former Diamondbacks ace, 13 had exit velocities 95 MPH or higher, and seven were over 100.

The damage could have been even worse, as eight of the hard hit balls found gloves for outs.

The Astros' game plan was clearly to attack Gallen early. Six of their seven hits came on either the first or second pitch, and there were five first-pitch outs as well.

Gallen's ERA inflated all the way back up to 5.58 and his record dropped to 7-11. It's been an enormously disappointing and damaging season for Gallen and for the organization.

A free agent at the end of 2025, Gallen is a frequently-mentioned trade target in the run up to the July 31 trade deadline. But his stock is declining by the outing, likely minimizing the return Arizona can expect to receive.

A year ago this time Gallen seemed like a lock to get close to a $200 million contract starting in 2026. Now it's questionable to even consider making a qualifying offer worth $21 million for one year to him in the event the D-backs don't trade him.

The Diamondbacks' offense was kept in check just long enough by Astros rookie starting pitcher Colton Gordon.

He gave up three runs, two earned in 5.2 innings. The Houston bullpen took over from there, shutting down Arizona's potent offense the rest of the way.

One highlight was Eugenio Suarez's solo homer in the third inning. It was his 36th of the year, allowing him to pull back ahead by one of Dodgers Shohei Ohtani for the National League lead. But that was hardly enough to keep the D-backs' flickering trade deadline hopes alive.

With the loss the Diamondbacks fall to 50-51. The Padres won, lengthening their lead over the D-backs to 5.5 games for the third NL Wild Card.

If there were any hope of the Diamondbacks still being buyers somehow in the next seven to 10 days, that was likely extinguished with this loss.

The only question that remains is just how hard the D-backs will sell. Other than Gallen, Suarez, Josh Naylor and Merrill Kelly are marquee free agents the Diamondbacks can trade for prospect capital or major league ready pitching. Randal Grichuk, Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks are also free agents.

Game two of the series is Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. MST. Eduardo Rodriguez will start for the Diamondbacks and Astros ace Framber Valdez will be on the mound for Houston.

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