The Arizona Diamondbacks faced off against the San Diego Padres on Friday night, and star pitcher Zac Gallen stole the show in a huge way.
Gallen came into the matchup as arguably the hottest pitcher in baseball, coming off two straight outings without allowing any runs.
He continued this impressive stretch of play by dominating the Padres’ dangerous offense. He racked up 11 strikeouts through seven innings while only allowing two hits in a 9-0 victory over San Diego.
Zac Gallen's 10th and 11th Ks.
And is fired up. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UY7JjgME03
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 22, 2023
This dominant performance pushed his scoreless streak to 21.2 innings after a somewhat shaky beginning of the season for his standards.
Zac Gallen continues to dominate. His scoreless streak is up to 21.2 IP. pic.twitter.com/B0dr16apuv
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2023
Gallen has always been an extremely talented pitcher with a ton of upside. However, the MLB world believes that he would have the potential to even take home the Cy Young award this season in the National League.
I don’t care what it costs. Zac Gallen needs to be a D-backs ace for life. Make it happen.
— Jacob Franklin (@Jacob_Franklin4) April 22, 2023
Zac Gallen pitching like he’s going to be in the running for a Cy Young. https://t.co/5hf817xtGd
— Steve Benko (@SteveBenko) April 22, 2023
21 2/3 scoreless innings for Zac Gallen. The #Dbacks ace is backing up what he told us in the offseason. https://t.co/XnFJHY0Cgx
— Mark McClune (@MarkMcClune) April 22, 2023
Zac Gallen cooked the Padres tonight. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nrcGlcwoaV
— theScore (@theScore) April 22, 2023
Zac Gallen has 20 whiffs tonight! 🤯
Just think about that for a second, hes essentially averaging a whiff per batter faced…
— John Bollman (@JohnBollman11) April 22, 2023
In Zac Gallen’s last 20.2 innings of work:
0 runs allowed
7 H
29 strikeoutsHe was my pick for the NL Cy Young for a reason
— JaguarGator9 (@JaguarGator9NFL) April 22, 2023
Perhaps even more impressive is that these scoreless innings are not coming from a ton of luck as some would expect from such a crazy streak. He leads the MLB in both strikeouts and innings pitched thus far this season.
Gallen’s breakout early on this year has been a part of a larger resurgence from the Diamondbacks as a team. There is obviously plenty of baseball left this season, but they have surprised everyone by leading the NL West at the point with a 12-9 record on the year.
If Zac Gallen can continue his impressive play, it could make the Diamondbacks a very intriguing team to watch for the rest of the season.
