The Diamondbacks failed to pick up their injured ace in a 3-2 loss to the Mets. The offense collected only four hits on the night, none after the fourth inning, and Ryan Thompson had a rare clunker outing, surrendering the tying and go-ahead runs late.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Zac Gallen’s start lasted just six pitches before getting removed with a right hamstring strain. He gave up a single to Francisco Lindor, who finished the night 4-for-4 with a home run, then threw one pitch to DJ Stewart before leaving the game. After the game, he told reporters this one felt different than the issue that popped up in his Seattle start.
“The one in Seattle was a little bit more minor, this one is mild,” said Gallen. “It felt similar to what I did in ’21. I really don’t know the scale, I knew that I couldn’t keep going or if I did, I would put the team in jeopardy and not give them a chance to win.”
Following an 11-day layoff between starts, Gallen said he felt pretty solid about his hamstring in the following four starts. In his start against the Detroit Tigers on May 18, he felt it tighten up a bit and requested the mound be worked during three separate inning breaks. He felt solid about it entering the game, which made it surprising that the injury occurred.
Gallen will get his injured right hamstring evaluated on Tuesday to determine the severity. If it is similar to the injury he sustained in 2021, when he missed two weeks with a right hamstring strain, a stint on the 15-day injured list is possible.
Gallen’s injury put the bullpen in scramble mode the rest of the night, needing to pick up 27 outs to win the game. The quartet of Bryce Jarvis, Brandon Hughes, Justin Martinez, and Joe Mantiply covered the first six innings, holding the Mets to one run. That one run came on a Lindor home run off Hughes in the third. Martinez was the Diamondbacks’ unsung hero of the night, pitching three scoreless innings on 36 pitches. He wiggled out of trouble with the help of a couple of ground ball double plays. That enabled them to get the ball to the back end of the bullpen, which had been pitching well of late.
The Diamondbacks took the lead in the third inning. A single by Gabriel Moreno and a walk to Corbin Carroll put a pair of runners on for Ketel Marte. Marte snapped an 0-for-21 skid by smoking a 110 MPH line drive into the right field corner to score both runners. Ultimately, that would be the only two runs the Diamondbacks scored on the night.
Snakes strike first! ???? pic.twitter.com/QGBT2GJfuV
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 31, 2024
They had a couple of chances to tack on in this game. In the fourth, Pavin Smith doubled in the right field corner to put a runner in scoring position before being left there. In the seventh, Eugenio Suárez reached on a fielding error by Lindor before advancing to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. Moreno and Newman were unable to cash in on the opportunity, both striking out to leave Suárez at third.
The missed opportunities came back to bite them in the bottom of the seventh. Joe Mantiply gave up a double to pinch-hitter Pete Alonso on a two-strike count. That’s when Lovullo summoned Thompson out of the bullpen. After inducing a lazy fly ball against pinch-hitter Harrison Bader, he jumped ahead of Lindor 1-2. He then threw a slider that spun over the middle of the plate, which Lindor lined into right to score Alonso from second. It marked Thompson’s third blown save of the month. He then served up the go-ahead home run to J.D. Martinez in the eighth for the game’s decisive run.
The Diamondbacks had a chance to make it interesting in the ninth following a leadoff walk by Christian Walker. However, both Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Pavin Smith swung at the first pitch and popped up to home plate. Pinch hitter Jake McCarthy grounded out to second to cap another inning of frustrating at-bats.
Arizona will have to do better offensively in the second game of the series against the Mets. They’ll send left-hander Jordan Montgomery to the mound, while the Mets counter with right-hander Luis Severino. First pitch at Citi Field will be at 4:10 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
