Zac Gallen pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday in Phoenix. Corbin Carroll's first-inning solo home run off Tarik Skubal provided the game's only run. The win completed a sweep of the D-backs' season-opening home series.
In the series finale at Chase Field, Zac Gallen made his first home start since re-signing with the Diamondbacks, allowing four hits with no walks and two strikeouts over six innings on 88 pitches. He relied on his four-seamer, knuckle-curve and slider to pitch to contact effectively. Gallen credited his rhythm with catcher Gabriel Moreno, saying, “As the game went on, [Gabriel Moreno] and I got into a really good rhythm of just mixing, and I just felt like I had pretty good command of everything for the most part.” The performance pushed Arizona back to .500 after an 0-3 start, marking their fourth sweep of a season-opening home series. Tarik Skubal, the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner from nearby Kingman, Arizona, countered with seven innings of one-run ball, scattering six hits with no walks and three strikeouts on 87 pitches. He induced 10 ground-ball outs and three double plays but rued the solo homer to Carroll on an 0-2 fastball. “Great pitch,” Skubal said. “I thought I executed it great... He's a really good hitter, too, and he put a good swing on it.” Carroll's drive to left field in the first was his second homer in six games, along with eight RBIs and a 1.162 OPS despite a prior hamate injury. The Diamondbacks' defense shone, tying the Dodgers for the MLB lead with eight defensive runs saved through six games. Key plays included Jose Fernandez's double play in the sixth, Ildemaro Vargas' backhand stop in the eighth, and strong infield work late. Manager Torey Lovullo emphasized, “Those are the things we’re built on, the pitching and defense.” Tigers skipper A.J. Hinch noted Skubal got stronger as the game progressed against Arizona's contact-heavy lineup.
