Arizona Diamondbacks finish trip in Washington, head home to meet AL heavyweight

The Arizona Diamondbacks finish their East Coast road trip with a Sunday, April 6, game at the Washington Nationals before a quick turnaround to host the Baltimore Orioles beginning April 7 at Chase Field.

Zac Gallen, who pitched four rather forgettable innings at Chase on Opening Day but rebounded in a big way at Yankee Stadium, is the scheduled starter for Arizona.

Gallen staggered the Yankees through 6 2/3 shutout innings, striking out 13.

Baltimore finished 2024 with 91 victories, second in the American League East to the Yankees, before falling to the Kansas City Royals in the wild-card round.

The Orioles are set to send out Zach Eflin (1-1), who looked strong in his first start, a 12-2 victory in Toronto (six innings, two hits, two runs). Eflin followed that with a loss in Baltimore on April 2 against Boston, 3-0 (six innings, eight hits, three runs).

Merrill Kelly, who was roughed up in his most recent start (nine hits, nine runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Yankees), is the scheduled starter for the matchup on April 8.

The last game of the three-game set is scheduled for a 12:40 p.m. first pitch.

Arizona finally enjoys a day off, its first of the month, before 2024 NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy — formerly the ASU baseball coach — and the Milwaukee Brewers visit for a three-game, weekend series.

Milwaukee won 93 games during the regular season, taking the NL Central by 10 games, before being upset by the New York Mets in the wild-card round.