The Diamondbacks defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-1 at Fenway Park. It was a return to form for Zac Gallen, who fired six scoreless innings to pick up his 10th win of the season. Despite losing their first three games of the road trip, they’ve won the next five to secure a winning road trip and back-to-back series wins.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“I think he had a great mindset, he was so focused and attacked the zone,” said manager Torey Lovullo in the postgame breakdown on the TV broadcast. “The fastball was on the plate, the curveball was quality, there was a changeup that came to play against left-handed hitters, so he had a lot going for him. I told him I was going to get him really close to that 100-pitch mark, maybe a little bit over that, and he went out and finished that sixth inning.”
It was a welcomed sight for Arizona’s ace to deliver a “typical Zac outing”, as he struggled to a 5.24 ERA in his past nine starts. Gallen held the Red Sox to just two hits and continued to pitch out of trouble. Every time Boston started to mount a rally, he made the pitch and got some big outs. His nine strikeouts on the day were the most since May 18.
In addition to excellent pitching, the Diamondbacks played excellent defense on the infield. All four infield starters turned in some nice defensive plays. Geraldo Perdomo and Luis Guillorme made diving stops, the latter a candidate for Play of the Year. Guillorme, who has been with the team for less than a week, made a Superman dive and quickly threw off the left hip to rob Masataka Yoshida of a hit.
It took less than a week for Luis Guillorme to make the most impressive infield play of the year. pic.twitter.com/BrSTXlfqMz
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 24, 2024
“That was amazing, he was flying, he’s doing the Superman,” said Perdomo in a postgame interview with Jody Jackson on the TV broadcast. “I’m really surprised he made that play. That was a tough play right there and I’m glad he made it for the team.”
While the Diamondbacks offense didn’t have a big day, with only four base hits all game, they took advantage of the six walks they were given. Three of those walks came around to score. Eugenio Suárez drove in all the runs they would need with a two-run double off the Green Monster to put Arizona up 2-0. At that point, Suárez had hits in four of his last five at-bats and driven in seven.
Geno bangs one off the monster to give the #Dbacks a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/rVqDC9vIhA
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 24, 2024
In the seventh, the Diamondbacks salted the game offensively. Without having to swing the bat, they put two runs on the board to push their lead to four. Lucas Sims and Brennan Bernadino walked four hitters, including a bases-loaded walk by Jake McCarthy. Bernadino uncorked a two-strike wild pitch while facing Joc Pederson, allowing Guillorme to score a key insurance run.
“It’s kind of like this firewall where if the pitcher has good stuff or he’s attacking and we’re not getting hits, I think our patience will pay off, we’re going get some baserunners and get some run-scoring opportunities,” said Lovullo. “That’s what we did today. We had the walk, the passed ball, and that was the big difference in the game.”
The Diamondbacks bullpen did a solid job to close this game out. Ryan Thompson and A.J. Puk each posted scoreless innings, the latter retiring Boston’s three best bats. Paul Sewald ran into some turbulence in the ninth, allowing a single and a double to the first two batters he faced, but completed the inning to seal the victory.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks will go for the series sweep over the Red Sox. Like Gallen, right-hander Merrill Kelly (3-0, 3.63 ERA) will try to bounce back from a tough start while Boston will send their most effective starter, Tanner Houck (8-8, 3.01 ERA), to the mound to try to salvage the series finale. First pitch at Fenway Park will be at 10:35 A.M. MST.
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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
