PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 on Sunday thanks to a strong six-strike outing from Zac Gallen and a two-run single by Corbin Carroll in the fifth inning, which saw five runs scored.
Gallen pitched ninety pitches, walking two and surrendering four hits. With a runner on third and one out, he struck out seven batters, including two in succession.
In the second inning, with the bases loaded, the right-hander got Brandon Crawford looking on a full count before getting out of the jam with a grounder. In the fourth, Gallen also whiffed on a 3-2 curveball to Ivan Herrera before retiring Crawford on a popup.
Miles Mikolas, the starter for St. Louis, faced the minimum through four innings but left the game before the fifth.
First up was Christian Walker, who finished with three hits. After Joc Pederson doubled down the right-field line, he advanced to third and, narrowly missing Brendan Donovan’s throw to the plate, scored on Jace Peterson’s sacrifice fly to left. After that, Jake McCarthy doubled to bring Pederson home.
Oliver Marmol of the Cardinals called in Andre Pallante after two walks loaded the bases, but Carroll smacked the right-hander’s opening ball to right for a two-run single. A wayward pitch by Pallante gave rise to the fifth run’s scoring. They were all billed to Mikolas.
Still In Minor Leagues Gallen
Gallen, a third-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2016 draft who was traded to Atlanta while still in the minor leagues, was shut out after three hitless innings combined by Bryce Jarvis and Joe Mantiply.
Gallen helped the Diamondbacks win the NL pennant last season, started the National League All-Star Game, and placed third in the Cy Young Award voting.
In the sixth inning, Carroll and McCarthy were chasing Willson Contreras’ drive to the wall in deep center when they almost ran into one other. Carroll seemed to trip over McCarthy as they rushed past each other, but McCarthy caught the ball, fell hard to the ground, and continued to play.
Jordan Montgomery, a left-hander, is expected to make his season debut before the game, likely in San Francisco during a weekend series, according to Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. In a Triple-A start for Reno at Tacoma, Montgomery, a free agent who signed during the last week of spring training, tossed 71 pitches, giving up nine hits and seven runs while striking out six in 3 2/3 innings.
Trainer’s Room
Cardinals: On Monday, the injured OF Dylan Carlson and INF/OF Tommy Edman will resume playing baseball. After their spring training, both have been sidelined.
Diamondbacks: According to Lovullo, closer Paul Sewald will take a bullpen hit before deciding how to proceed with his comeback to the active roster…. 3B Eugenio Suárez was off on schedule for the first time this season.
Cardinals: Play Oakland on Monday night to start a three-game series. Former A’s RHP Sonny Gray takes against RHP Ross Stripling for St. Louis.
RHP is the Diamondbacks. At Chase Field on Monday, Merrill Kelly begins a three-game series against the Cubs. Ben Brown, RHP, gets started for Chicago.
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