Zac Gallen Aims to Win Series in Fenway Park against Boston Red Sox

The Arizona Diamondbacks are on a four-game winning streak after beating the Boston Red Sox 12-2 last night. Now, they go for the series win with the first pitch at 1:10 PM local AZ time. The D-backs are 7-3 in their last ten games.

The D-backs are now 73-56, 17 games over .500, their most games over .500 since 2017 when they won 93 games and advanced to the NLDS. Every game right now is a must-win as they are just 0.5 games above the Padres for the first NL Wild Card spot.

Plus, they are 3.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and six games ahead of the Mets, their top two contenders for a Wild Card spot aside from San Diego.

Arizona is looking to win their second series in a row and start a new streak of consecutive series won along with ending this nine game road trip with an above-.500 record after starting it off by being swept by the Rays.

If they win today, they’ll go at least 5-4 on this road trip and will have won just their second series versus the AL East this year.

RHP Zac Gallen, 9-6, 3.85 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 102 Strikeouts in 110 Innings

The Diamondbacks need Zac Gallen to be the ace of the staff. Aside from a couple of starts, Gallen has struggled since coming off the Injured List in late June. Since he came back June 29th, he has a 4.64 ERA and has given up 57 hits and 22 walks in just 52.1 innings.

Those numbers are very uncommon for Gallen. He’s never been one to walk a lot of batters, but he’s struggled with his command of late which has allowed too many baserunners and created plenty of situations where teams can score runs.

Gallen has to locate his fastball as it has been hit hard this year. Opponents are hitting .318 against it and slugging .503. That simply can’t continue if Arizona and Gallen want to get deep into the playoffs.

His knuckle-curve has continued to be a lethal wipe-out pitch and he will have to rely on it and his other off-speed pitches to keep hitters off of waiting for his fastball. Opponents have hit his knuckle-curve for an average of just .155 while slugging just .239.

Today, Gallen has to overcome his road woes as he’s struggled more on the road than at home this season. On the road, he has a 4.69 ERA in 48 innings with 20 walks and 44 strikeouts.

If the Arizona Diamondbacks are going to win today, they need Zac Gallen to be at his best and set the tone for the game and team while pitching like the Postseason ace that the D-backs will rely upon in October.

RHP Kutter Crawford, 8-10, 4.25 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 133 Strikeouts in 142 Innings

Crawford was a revelation for the Red Sox earlier this year as he pitched far better than expected, but as with the rest of the Red Sox pitching staff, he’s struggled of late.

Crawford has been hit hard and far as he leads MLB in homers given up with 28. That equates to 1.8 home runs allowed per nine innings. While it hasn’t been easy to get a hit off of him with just 119 given up, when batters make contact, the ball soars.

He’s had a rough go of it since July 21st. Over those six starts and 29.1 innings, he’s averaging under five innings a start with an ERA of 8.90 and a FIP of 8.62.

He’s allowed 31 hits, 29 runs, seven walks, and an eye-popping 14 home runs. Five times, he’s allowed four or more runs during this span of starts.

Crawford excels at getting hitters to chase pitches, particularly his cutter and sweeper along with his split-finger. If Arizona hitters can stay patient at the plate and avoid chasing, they can make plenty of contact and perhaps even get a few home runs or at least drive up his pitch count.

Corbin Carroll has reached base safely in 32 straight starts and will look to make it 33. Plus, he has scored a run in 14 straight starts and will strive to again make it 15. He’s been hitting the ball hard and far of late with a .582 slugging percentage and .910 OPS since July 5th.

Jake McCarthy recorded two more hits last night and is now hitting .385 since July 27th over 25 games. He has 37 hits over that span.

Eugenio Suarez hit his second grand slam of the season last night and had five RBI and now has 42 RBI since July 3rd including four different games with five RBI.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will need to stay patient at the plate and pick their pitches as they can do plenty of damage against Crawford and the Boston Red Sox. Gallen will have to pitch sharp and avoid leaving his fastball out over the plate. If he can, he will be in great shape to win today’s game.