Surging Zac Gallen eager to help D-backs hang on to playoff hopes vs. Phillies

Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen has righted his season just in time to keep the Diamondbacks' slim playoff hopes alive while also helping himself in the free-agent market this winter.

Gallen (12-14, 4.73 ERA) has won five of his last seven decisions and will oppose Philadelphia right-hander Aaron Nola (4-9, 6.44) in the second game of a three-game series in Phoenix on Saturday.

Philadelphia (92-62) moved closer to the best record in the National League with an 8-2 victory Friday, while the D-backs (77-77) dropped three games behind the New York Mets (80-74) in the battle for the third wild-card spot in the National League.

The Phillies already have clinched the NL East title and are two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers (94-60) in the chase for the best record in the NL. The Phillies are 31-15 since the trade deadline in late July, the best record in the majors during that span, and have won nine of their past 11 games.

"We've had great pitching," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Gallen has been similarly good on the mound, with a 2.68 ERA in nine starts since the deadline, when it was widely speculated that he would be traded. Seven of those have been quality starts.

Gallen's season ERA is at a four-month low, and he said his performance before the deadline -- when the D-backs traded five potential free agents to build for the future -- still weighs on him.

"I took it pretty personally, because I felt I was one of the opposites of a bright spot in the first half," Gallen said. "I look back, there were a lot of winnable games where I hung the bullpen out to dry, hung the offense out to drive.

"I could go to sleep at night and shoulder a lot of that blame. But at the same time, it is a hard game. You have to show up the next day, the next time you pitch, and just try to keep improving."

Harrison Bader and Nick Castellanos homered for the Phillies on Friday, when Thomson piggy-backed starter Taijuan Walker and bulk reliever Walker Buehler for 7 2/3 innings.

Bader is hitting .340 with five homers and 16 RBIs since joining the Phillies on Aug. 1 and has 17 homers this season.

Nola has double-digit victories in six of the seven seasons in which he has made at least 25 starts, but ankle and rib injuries cost him three months before he returned in mid-August. He has made 15 starts this year.

Nola has scuffled in his six starts since returning, pitching to a 6.89 ERA, but he is 3-2 thanks to the Phillies' offensive support. He gave up three hits in six scoreless innings of a 1-0 victory over the Mets on Sept. 8, his most effective start of the season and one of two quality starts since his return.

Nola gave up six runs and two homers in his last outing, a 10-3 home loss to Kansas City on Sunday. He is 3-3 with a 6.16 ERA in seven regular-season starts against the D-backs, although he pitched six scoreless innings against them in a 10-0 victory in Game 2 of the 2023 National League Championship Series. He was the 5-1 loser in Game 6 of that series.

Ketel Marte and Jake McCarthy have two homers apiece against him. Marte homered among his three hits Friday.

Gallen is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA in six regular-season starts against the Phillies, who beat him twice in the 2023 NLCS.

Bryce Harper is 6-for-15 against him. Harper and Kyle Schwarber had two homers off him in that series, and Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto had one.

---Field Level Media