Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks avoid sweep vs. Marlins

MIAMI — In the four years since it happened, right-hander Zac Gallen has been asked, over and over again, to revisit the deal that brought him to the Diamondbacks, in no small part because of comments made by the player for whom he was traded.

But Gallen also was involved in another trade earlier in his career, one that took center stage in the Diamondbacks’ 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon.

A little more than a year and a half before the Marlins traded Gallen to the Diamondbacks for center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., they were the ones who acquired him in a five-player deal that sent slugger Marcell Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Coming to Miami along with Gallen in that deal was right-hander Sandy Alcantara, a pitcher who, like Gallen, was a prospect at the time — and whose career, like Gallen’s, has turned out quite nicely.

Gallen and Alcantara matched up on Sunday for the first time. Gallen came out on top. He fired 6 2/3 shutout innings in his second consecutive impressive start while the Diamondbacks, led by outfielder Corbin Carroll, scored five runs (four earned) off Alcantara, the reigning National League Cy Young winner.

The win meant something to Gallen in that he was matching up against a talented pitcher and his former team. But in terms of thinking back on the first time he was traded — that deal went down in December 2017, a year and a half after the Cardinals drafted him in the third round in 2016 — that deal does not sit with him the same way the second one does.

“I think I’m so far removed from it that it’s just the nature of the game, the business of baseball,” Gallen said. “I’ve got nothing for you on that, really.”

It would be a different story, he said, if someone were to ask a certain family member.

“I think my grandmother has more animosity towards the trade than I do,” Gallen said.

Gallen thinks that is because he was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his childhood. His grandmother, he says, always associated him with the Cardinals and thus took it as an affront that they would dare trade away her grandson.

“Pretty much,” he said. “But it’s the business of baseball. It is what it is. Things like that are going to happen in your career. You can use it as fuel to the fire if you want, but there’s nothing really there anymore.”

The next trade, however, is different, for a number of reasons. Gallen seems to still hold a grudge against the Marlins organization, and it did not help when Chisholm went on ex-big leaguer C.C. Sabathia’s podcast in April 2021 and laid out his intentions.

“I’m not going to lie to you, though, the one thing I really do want to do is take him deep,” Chisholm said on the R2C2 podcast. “I know we’re going to Arizona soon. I want him to be healthy and at 100 percent because facing me is going to be a motherf---er when I get there.”

Gallen has now faced Chisholm in two starts, one last year, another on Sunday. After going 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts on Sunday, Chisholm is hitless in six at-bats against him.

“Jazz is a good player,” Gallen said. “I see him in the same sense as Sandy in that I know I have to bring my ‘A’ game. Just try to make good pitches. He’s at the top of their lineup and you can see when he goes, their offense tends to go.”

The Diamondbacks broke open a 1-0 game with a four-run sixth, an inning set up by a dropped throw by Alcantara at first base. The error seemed to cause him to lose focus.

In the inning, the Diamondbacks smoked three consecutive balls at 100-plus mph, with Pavin Smith’s RBI single (109.6 mph), Christian Walker’s run-scoring double (105.8 mph) and a homer by Carroll (106 mph) making it a 5-0 lead. All three came on pitches left over the plate.

Gallen, who did not allow a hit until one out in the fifth, seemed to make fewer mistakes, though the Marlins did hit several balls hard that went right to, or were tracked down by, Diamondbacks outfielders.

“I was just trying to make pitches,” Gallen said. “I knew it was going to be a close game with Sandy on the mound so I just did my best to keep us in it and give us a shot to win.”

Though the Diamondbacks are headed to St. Louis next on this road trip, Gallen said the connection to the Cardinals no longer weighs on his mind. That said, he is aware of the fact that the trade is not remembered fondly in St. Louis.

“That’s what my dad lets me know,” Gallen said. “According to the people on Twitter, they think that one aged pretty poorly. I mean, it’s tough. You never know. You take a shot on a couple of guys and they turned out to hit.”

And they happened to match up on Sunday, with Gallen coming away victorious.

“I’ve known Sandy since I was 21 and he was 21,” he said. “Kind of spent a little time growing up together with the Cardinals and then the Marlins. I just love seeing him do well. Competing against him was a lot of fun. I knew I had to bring my ‘A’ game. I’m glad we got out of there with a win.”

Short hops

Left-hander Joe Mantiply (shoulder) threw two scoreless innings on Saturday in his second outing on a rehab assignment with Double-A Amarillo. He could join the team in St. Louis. Manager Torey Lovullo said the two spoke on Sunday, with Mantiply saying he had to pitch in cold and wet conditions. “I said, that’s perfect,” Lovullo said. “We’re in controlled conditions at Chase and you’re going to find yourself in a game like that (on the road) and you’re going to be more ready than anybody. He said he feels good.”

*Lovullo did not offer specifics on the illness that has outfielder Kyle Lewis on the injured list but he did provide an encouraging update. “He’s trending in a good direction and feeling better,” Lovullo said. Lewis has been out since April 8.

Rewind: Diamondbacks, Lovullo make statements in winning series vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Diamondbacks to celebrate Jackie Robinson

Starting on Friday the Diamondbacks will partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day and to honor his legacy.

The team, which will be out of town on Jackie Robinson Day (Saturday) and plans to celebrate during the next homestand, has two events planned this week, both at MLB Arizona Diamondbacks Branch Teen Center, 548 W. Southern Ave, Phoenix:

Friday: Teen Movie Night, 4-7 p.m.

30 participating club members will attend a viewing of the film “42,” with a discussion to follow around the significance of Jackie Robinson, his values and what they mean to them. The late Chadwick Boseman starred in the 2013 film that dramatized Robinson breaking the MLB color barrier on April 15, 1947.

Panelists include Edwin Jackson, The Player’s Alliance; Travis Hardin, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church and former Minor League baseball player; and Arizona State Representative Marcelino Quiñonez.

Saturday: Jackie Robinson Day Clinic, 9 a.m.-noon

The D-backs Academy, RBI team and Nike will host a free immersive clinic for the members of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley on how to play the Jackie Robinson way. The clinic will take place on the field with stations, exhibition games and a post-event lunch.

April 20: Jackie Robinson Day Celebration at Chase Field

During the game against San Diego, the Diamondbacks will pay tribute to Robinson, starting with the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation's annual contribution to support scholarship opportunities for the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks Branch of Boys & Girls Club of the Valley with a $4,200 charitable gift in honor of Jackie Robinson’s number 42.

Before the game, the national anthem will be performed by the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, who will also perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Richard Yarbough, an administrator at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. Yarbough played baseball for two years at USC.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks avoid sweep vs. Marlins