Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo faced a tough decision after the fifth inning. Zac Gallen had pitched well up to that point but was at 90 pitches and had to grind through a 36-pitch inning in the second. With a tired bullpen reeling from the previous night’s loss, Lovullo decided to push his ace for one more inning.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“We were a little bit short in the bullpen,” said Lovullo in the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV. “I was piecing it together and I felt like if he gave us six, we were going to be in a great spot.”
Gallen struck out Austin Riley to begin the inning, but it unraveled for the next three hitters. He left a center-cut fastball at 93 MPH to Matt Olson, who smoked the pitch into the right-center gap for a double. Then he threw six straight curveballs to Marcell Ozuna, the last one getting ripped through the left side of the infield to put runners on the corners.
It wasn’t until after the Ozuna single that the Diamondbacks started to get their bullpen going. Thyago Vieira had started warming at that point. Lovullo considered getting his ace at that point but chose to leave him in to face Adam Duvall with his pitch count already over 100. The Diamondbacks manager explained the decision, with Jesse Friedman of PHNX Sports posting the video on X.
“Yeah I thought about it,” said Lovullo. “I was going batter-to-batter, I knew 105 to 107 pitches was going to be my limit with him. I felt like he could get that second out somehow, someway and I was going to go to the bullpen. I did, but it’s Zac and I felt like he threw the ball really well. He was two outs away from a quality start, he got things really under control outside of that second inning. I felt like it was his game.”
Torey Lovullo on if he considered removing Zac Gallen after Marcell Ozuna's single in the sixth:
"I did, but it's Zac. And I felt like he threw the ball really well. He was two outs away from a quality start … I felt like it was his game." pic.twitter.com/CDXWHkiBNy
— Jesse Friedman (@JesseNFriedman) July 10, 2024
Gallen then jumped ahead of Duvall 0-2 but went to the well one too many times as another curveball got hammered for a three-run home run that blew the game open.
Gallen was asked in the Diamondbacks clubhouse after the game if fatigue played a role in that inning, with the video posted on X by PHNX Diamondbacks.
“I wouldn’t really say so. I think it was more just the sequencing. Move the eye levels a little bit, maybe go fastball up or fastball down, I think it was more in sequencing. I can’t really say it’s the pitch count.”
Zac Gallen was asked if fatigue played a role in the pitch that Adam Duvall hit out.
He said it was more of a sequencing issue.
"Maybe move the eye levels a little bit, maybe go fastball up, fastball down … There have been outings where I've finished at 105 or 110. It's been… pic.twitter.com/tdQjCfyYoL
— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) July 10, 2024
Looking back at that at-bat, you can see the location of the three pitches. Gallen went curveball, slider, curveball to Duvall, with the three pitches having a similar speed and location in the zone.
Not a good sequence by Gallen to Duvall. 3 straight breaking balls to the same spot in the zone. Duvall makes it 5-0 with a long home run.
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) July 10, 2024
The home run gave the Braves a 5-0 cushion and cruised to a 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Self-inflicted mistakes cost the Diamondbacks in 6-2 loss to the Braves
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
