Diamondbacks 3, Astros 6: 101 Damnations

That might be it. Time for the Sell Train to leave the station

Record: 50-51. Pace: 80-82. Change on 2024: -1.

There’s a realistic chance that tonight was Zac Gallen’s final appearance as an Arizona Diamondback, after seven seasons and 164 starts for the team. All told, he has likely been a top five starter: obviously behind Johnson, Schilling and Webb, but not many more. If this was the last of Zac, his performance tonight encapsulated not the Gallen who had three top ten finishes in the Cy Young voting, and was an All-Star in 2023. But it was an accurate summary of Zac over the past year or so. He simply was never the same after coming off the injured list in the middle of last year. Since the start of July 2024, Gallen has made 37 starts with an ERA of 5.04.

Tonight, he surrendered a pair of long-balls to a rookie with barely a handful of major league appearances. There was a three-run shot in the second, and after some discussion in the GDT as to whether Gallen should be out there in the seventh, Zac provided the answer with a two-run home-run. His curveball was fine. But his fastball was tattooed over the ballpark so often, you’d be forgiven for seeking a trash-can in the Astros dugout. Nope. Gallen just does not have it. The “Gallen is back!” crowd from a couple of starts ago were nowhere to be found tonight. With a 5.58 ERA this year, I’m not sure we can get a bag of balls for him. I’d certainly not risk a qualifying offer. How the once mighty are fallen.

Any energy resulting from the sweep of the Cardinals evaporated, proving yet again that momentum is only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher. The loss, coupled with a San Diego victory in Miami, leaves Arizona 5.5 games out of the third wild-card spot. If you’re playing along at home, you’ll notice that’s exactly the same amount they were going into the All-Star break. We’ve caught up precisely no ground, and as noted in the GDT intro, everyone between us and that spot is facing much easier opposition in the first half of this week. We needed to go at least 4-2 against the Astros and Pirates this week. Losing the opener is not a good first step. But, hey! There is some good news…

Yep. Eugenio Suarez continued his insane tear, with his fifth home-run in four games, a solo shot with two outs in the third inning. It was his 36th home-run and restored his lead in the NL home-run race, moments after Shohei Ohtani had tied Suarez on 35. [But guess what’s the leading story on MLB.com? Take a wild stab in the dark…] It moves him up to equal fifth on the franchise single-season home-run list, with more than one third of the season to go. No Diamondback has hit more in sixteen seasons, since Mark Reynolds hit 44 in 2009. Incidentally, the franchise record for home-runs in a four-game span belong to Reggie Sanders, who his six over sixteen AB in April 2001.

Eugenio looks likely to set a record as the deadline player traded with most home-runs in baseball history. The price for him should be appropriate to that, rental or not. Josh Naylor also did his value no harm at all, getting a couple of hits, as did James McCann – there’s a growing case to be made (and some are making it) that we should be looking to re-sign the catcher for next season. Blaze Alexander had a double and two walks, while Ketel Marte – back in the line-up after his burglary related absence – doubled and walked. But he also flew out with the bases loaded in the sixth. The Diamondbacks left eleven men on base, and were 1-for-7 with RISP. Though so were the Astros, admittedly…

That sole hit came before Arizona had seen a batter retired. Marte got things started with a fizzing double, possessing an exit velocity of 113.5 mph. Corbin Carroll followed up with a single that just made it through the infield, to score Marte for an early 1-0 lead. But that three-run homer with two outs in the second off Gallen, put the D-backs behind for the rest of the game. Suarez’s homer made it 4-2, and Carroll then manufactured a run in the fifth. After a walk to Marte, he forced an error as the Astros tried to complete a double-play, and was able to reach second. He then stole third, and came home on an Lourdes Gurriell sac fly, reducing the deficit to one run. Until Gallen decided otherwise, anyway.

Of course, on a night when it didn’t matter much, the Arizona bullpen showed up. Kendall Graveman, Andrew Saalfrank and Trevor Richards combined for three scoreless innings, on three hits and four walks, with no strikeouts. Richards made his D-backs debut, and became the 32nd pitcher used by the Diamondbacks this year, not including Jose Herrera. But as has happened so often this year, the team stands or falls on its starting pitching. Arizona are 32-9 when they get a quality start: 18-42 when they don’t. I’d have to check how that compares against the rest of baseball, but it feels more sharply delineated than I would expect.

Well, so much for my undefeated streak on Mondays. For that was the first time that the D-backs have lost on a Monday since all the way back on May 5th. Thanks, Zac… Comment of the Night has to go to ChefAZ, who made this promise before the game:

Needless to say, this provided a LOT of amusement, especially after Suarez went deep in the third inning, all the way until Suarez made his final appearance with two outs in the ninth… and was walked by Josh Hader on four pitches. BOO THAT MAN!!!! Chef’s butt cheeks remain in pristine condition. Tomorrow, it’s the same two teams, with Eduardo Rodriguez taking the mound for the D-backs. But it’s hard to do more than believe we are now waiting for HugWatch 2025 to come into effect.