D-backs turn to Zac Gallen in rubber match vs. Cardinals

The Arizona Diamondbacks will try to earn their second straight series victory when they host the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

After winning two of three games from the Rockies in Colorado, the Diamondbacks will try to do the same to the Cardinals in Phoenix.

Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen (2-0, 2.25 ERA) will start on Sunday in the rubber game of the series.

Gallen struck out 10 and walked none in a no-decision against the Rockies on Monday. He allowed three runs on eight hits in five innings. Gallen is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals, his original organization.

The Diamondbacks would like Gallen to work deep into Sunday's game and take pressure off their bullpen. Arizona relievers allowed three runs in three innings of a 9-6 loss to the Cardinals on Friday and yielded one run in three frames of a 4-2 victory Saturday, with Kevin Ginkel getting the save.

"When it works, it lines up and we get big outs and we can stay in games and win baseball games," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "And when it doesn't, you can see what happens. Those types of game, the chance to win evaporates and leads get stretched.

"We believe in the pieces we have down there. We just have to get them on a roll and get them in rhythm."

With reliever Paul Sewald on the injured list with an oblique strain, Ginkel has been handling much of the ninth-inning work. But Lovullo has been hesitant to designate him as the closer.

"I don't want to put that on him," Lovullo said. "If it evolves into that, if we're seven, 10 games from now and he's closing out a bunch of times and I follow that pattern, I might have changed my mind.

"For right now, it's just status quo. Nobody's going to be named the closer. I told (him) just be ready in the eighth or nine inning; that's going to be his role. It's been working really well for him."

St. Louis will counter on Sunday with right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-1, 4.76 ERA) who is coming off his second straight quality start. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

"They score a run on the cue-ball past first base that (Paul Goldschmidt) almost gets," Mikolas said. "If there's a guy not on first, he gets that easily. Maybe there's not a run. Maybe that's a double play in there somewhere. That's baseball."

Mikolas is 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA in five career appearances against the Diamondbacks, including three starts.

The Cardinals will try to shake off Saturday's frustrating offensive performance. Their hitters were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

"We had a lot of opportunities -- that's probably the most frustrating part of tonight's game," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the loss. "We created some opportunities to get going offensively, and we just didn't come up with the big knocks."

--Field Level Media