Nick PiecoroArizona Republic
NEW YORK — Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen exited his start after just six pitches on Thursday night with what the team already is calling a right hamstring strain, an ominous injury to the club’s top starting pitcher.
Manager Torey Lovullo said it was unclear whether Gallen was going to require a stint on the injured list, but Gallen seemed to assume he would, saying he hoped the severity of the injury lined up with a previous hamstring strain that cost him only two weeks.
Lovullo said Gallen would be sent back to Arizona on Friday to be evaluated, at which point the club would make a determination on whether the IL would be necessary.
Gallen, who dealt with issues with the same hamstring a month ago in Seattle, then again three weeks later in a start against the Tigers, felt his leg “grab” at him on his fifth pitch of the game, a curveball that the New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor shot into center field for a single. He knew after the next pitch, a fastball to D.J. Stewart, that he would not be able to continue.
“The one in Seattle was a little bit more minor,” Gallen said. “This one is mild, I guess. It felt similar to what I did in 2021. I don’t really know the scale, I just knew I couldn’t really keep going or if I did I would put the team in jeopardy and not give them a chance to win.”
Three years ago, Gallen exited a start against the San Francisco Giants with what was later determined to be a Grade 1 strain. He returned from the injured list 15 days later.
Lovullo said what he often says when his players are injured, stressing that he was going to “remain optimistic,” but he also admitted what seems obvious: “It’s not great news; I’m not going to lie,” he said.
That the club’s medical staff already is calling a hamstring strain is not an encouraging sign. If the injury is significant, it would be yet another tough blow for a Diamondbacks club that already has been hit hard by injuries this season.
Were Gallen to land on the injured list, he join fellow top starters Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez, both of whom are out with shoulder issues. Those three entered the year expected to occupy the top three spots in the rotation.
After exiting his start in Seattle with what was called “right hamstring tightness,” Gallen was expected to make his next start five days later, but the pitching plans became jumbled following the bee delay game on April 30. Gallen wound up having his turn in the rotation skipped as a precaution.
In an outing on May 18 vs. the Tigers, Gallen said he felt his hamstring get “tight” on him, but he managed to remain in the game and throw 6 2/3 innings.
Gallen said “weird part” is that the discomfort he has felt on each occasion has been in different areas “pretty much just up and down (my hamstring).”
Said Lovullo: “We were following a process and the protocols. Zac was giving us great input with each day that he was moving further away from that Seattle episode. We felt very strongly — and he did, too — that he was doing just fine.”
With the offense struggling to find consistency, any sort of prolonged absence for Gallen could be devasting for the Diamondbacks. Gallen owns a 3.12 ERA in 57 2/3 innings, with 15 walks and 60 strikeouts this season.
Right-hander Slade Cecconi and lefty Tommy Henry would appear to be the most likely candidates to take Gallen’s place.
Cecconi was roughed up in back-to-back outings earlier this month before being sent back to Reno, where he fired seven scoreless innings on Sunday against Oklahoma City.
Henry, too, has thrown well for Reno recently, giving up a combined two runs in 10 1/3 innings over his past two starts, though he has issued seven walks, with 12 strikeouts, in that span.
DBacks’ Geraldo Perdomo set for rehab assignment
NEW YORK — Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday in the Arizona Complex League, manager Torey Lovullo said.
Perdomo, who has been out since April 3 with a torn meniscus in his right knee, will serve as the designated hitter on Friday and could play shortstop on Saturday, Lovullo said.
How long of a rehab assignment Perdomo will need remains unclear, but Lovullo said Perdomo could shift to another of the club’s minor league affiliates after Saturday.
Lovullo said Perdomo and center fielder Alek Thomas each took 10 at-bats against live pitching on Wednesday. Perdomo ran the bases and Thomas, who is coming back from a hamstring injury, ran in a straight line “at a pretty good pace.”
“Everybody is in a very positive space,” Lovullo said. “Those are the most important markers for them is the baserunning because of the nature of their injuries.”
Lovullo considering changes before series openers
NEW YORK — Manager Torey Lovullo said he considered a suggestion from a player about making wholesale changes to the club’s pregame routine before Thursday’s series opener against the New York Mets but opted against it for now.
Given the club’s struggles in the first games of series — they are 3-15 in series openers — closer Paul Sewald suggested to Lovullo that the team should try not holding pregame meetings or doing its usual on-field work, just as a way of changing things up.
Lovullo said he gave it some thought but decided he wanted his team to get used to its new environs.
“I always like to get out (on the field) on Day 1,” Lovullo said. “It’s really important to me that the infielders get the bounces, the outfielders get sightlines, the hitters get ball-flight backgrounds. Had this been a different series where we’d already played in the stadium and are familiar with that, I might have considered it. Shuffling the deck is definitely an option.”
Friday’s Diamondbacks-Mets pitching matchup
Diamondbacks at Mets, 4:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34
Diamondbacks LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 4.69) vs. Marlins RHP Luis Severino (2-2, 3.22).
At Citi Field: Montgomery gave up two runs in six innings against the Marlins, saying after that it was the closest he has felt to his normal self all year. … Montgomery hasn’t been especially sharp this year, but he hasn’t been bad, either, going at least six innings in five of his seven starts. … Montgomery owns an 8.40 ERA in four career starts against the Mets, including a 14.29 ERA (12 runs in 5 2/3 innings) in two starts at Citi Field. … SS Francisco Lindor is 6 for 11 (.545) with two doubles and a homer off him. … Severino posted a 6.65 ERA last season with the Yankees but is enjoying a bounceback with the Mets this year. Most recently, he gave up one run in seven innings against the Giants. … He averages 96 mph with his fastball and has found a breaking ball that works better this year, utilizing an 85.5 mph offering that is being categorized as a “sweeper” to get whiffs 38 percent of the time. … He has never faced the Diamondbacks.
Coming up
Saturday: At New York, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Blake Walston (0-0, 2.16) vs. Mets LHP Sean Manaea (3-1, 3.16).
Sunday: At New York, 10:40 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (2-4, 4.16) vs. Mets LHP Jose Quintana (1-5, 5.06).
Monday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (3-4, 6.02) vs. Giants TBA.
