World Series 2023: Pushed to the brink, Arizona Diamondbacks need ace Zac Gallen to push his limits in Game 5

PHOENIX — The biggest start of Zac Gallen’s life will come in uncharted territory. And not just because his Arizona Diamondbacks are on the brink after a brutal World Series Game 4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday to fall behind 3-1.

When he toes the rubber for Game 5 on Wednesday at Chase Field, the 28-year-old Arizona ace will be staring down the explosive Rangers lineup, his own October inconsistencies and the strain of a herculean workload. After an 11-run Texas outburst Tuesday, Gallen will be tasked with cooling off the Rangers’ bats and extending the Diamondbacks’ storybook run.

Gallen was one of the first signs of a contender blooming in Arizona. After the 2019 trade that brought him to the Diamondbacks, the right-hander staked a claim as one of the game’s burgeoning aces. He received Cy Young votes in 2020 and again in 2022, and he’ll be a factor in NL balloting this season after logging a 3.47 ERA. An essential figure in getting this team to this point — and in their future — Gallen will now shoulder perhaps the biggest burden in keeping the 2023 Snakes alive.

After Game 4, veteran first baseman Christian Walker said he would bet on Gallen all day, every day.

“He's my guy. He's our guy,” Walker said. “Nothing but confidence, nothing but faith in him.”

In fronting the Diamondbacks’ rotation as they chased and barely grabbed a postseason spot, Gallen racked up 210 innings in the regular season — second in baseball behind only the Giants’ Logan Webb — and has now thrown 27 1/3 more frames in October. Those 237 1/3 combined innings are the most an MLB pitcher has thrown in a season since 2019, when Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg exceeded that mark.

Despite his undeniable ace status, Gallen has labored in the playoffs. He has pushed through at least five innings in all five postseason starts, but with at least two runs surrendered in each outing, his October ERA stands at 5.27.

“We've got to remember that Zac spoils us. He goes out there and goes five, six, seven innings every single time. And inside of that, he might give up two or three runs, but we're so used to him giving up zero or one runs,” manager Torey Lovullo said Tuesday. “He is a human being. He's going to have some good and bad moments. I think the reason why we're seeing him in this point in time probably not throwing up nothing but zeroes is command of his pitches, command of his secondary stuff.”

Gallen’s strikeout percentage, a sterling 26% in the regular season, is down to 15.3% in the playoffs, and his walk rate has almost doubled. In five playoff starts, he has allowed five homers off his signature four-seam fastball after giving up just seven in 34 regular-season outings. Whether it’s a lack of feel or wavering command, the inability to fully rely on that pitch, typically Gallen’s bread and butter, has led to increased usage of breaking pitches that are less likely to land in the strike zone.

Diamondbacks pitching coach Brent Strom said prior to Game 1 that the wear and tear of that huge innings total is likely contributing to Gallen’s unsteady October.

“Obviously, 230 innings later, I think has something to do with it,” Strom said. “I don't think the pressure of any of this is bothering him. He doesn't seem to be affected by that. I think he enjoys this. I think he's going to rise to the occasion here.”

Although Arizona has lost his past three starts, Gallen left World Series Game 1 with a lead and a positive outlook, having seemingly found a groove in the later innings of that outing. He said Tuesday that he couldn’t pinpoint a reason but simply felt a little more comfortable in his delivery. Gallen is a tinkerer, by Strom’s description, and he has not altered his work between starts.

“I just threw, like, a 35-pitch bullpen yesterday, where I think some people might try and taper it off, keep that in the 20s or whatever it is. But I'm still trying to work on things, still trying to get better,” Gallen said, noting that the robust throwing schedule helps him feel at ease heading into a start.

Ryne Nelson, the 25-year-old pitcher who soaked up 5 1/3 critical innings for Arizona in the middle of the Game 4 blowout, said he has admired Gallen’s commitment to his work all year.

“He's a creature of habit,” Nelson said. “I think he has a really good routine, and he goes about his business the right way. And that's something that all of us younger guys have been kind of watching. If you throw 230-plus innings in a season, you've got your routine down pretty good.”

Gallen said he’s trying to keep his work just as it would be for a normal start in May, but he also recognizes the challenge at hand — and instead of nodding at the workload as an issue, he is viewing this as the first of many seasons in which he will need to make big pitches deep into October.

“Hopefully,” he said, “this isn't the last time I'm experiencing this and this heavy of a workload, this late of a workload.”