NEW YORK — Zac Gallen matched his personal best with 13 strikeouts while maintaining an 18 2/3-inning scoreless streak against the New York Yankees. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. started the Arizona Diamondbacks off to a 4-3 victory with a two-run homer in the first inning against Carlos Rodón.
Gallen, now 1-1, bounced back from an initial defeat to the Chicago Cubs by conceding only three hits and no walks, relying heavily on his knuckle-curve for 10 of his strikeouts. This win brings his record to 3-0 when playing against the Yankees. Gallen previously achieved 13 strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 22, 2022.
Arizona’s closer, A.J. Puk, allowed a ninth-inning, opposite-field three-run homer to Anthony Volpe but managed to close the game by getting Austin Wells to foul out and striking out Jasson Domínguez. This marked Puk’s second save in consecutive nights.
The Yankees struggled at the plate as Aaron Judge contributed to three of their 16 total strikeouts. Following a series-opening sweep of Milwaukee, the team amassed 30 strikeouts across losses in the first two games of this series.
Rodón, currently 1-1, allowed four runs, three hits, and four walks within the initial two innings. However, after that rocky start, he tightened his performance with four hitless innings, despite a noticeable drop in his pitch velocity by approximately 2.5 mph.
Ketel Marte showed patience by drawing a walk after starting 0-2 in the game, which set up Gurriel’s home run into the left-field upper deck on an 0-2 fastball. In the second inning, Geraldo Perdomo’s sacrifice fly was followed by Marte’s RBI single, coinciding with the announcement of Marte’s contract extension, guaranteeing him $116.5 million through 2031.
Demonstrating defensive prowess, Marte executed a remarkable stop on Cody Bellinger’s grounder in the sixth inning. From a seated position, he managed a forceout at second base. Meanwhile, on the mound, Rodón, unfazed by 42-degree conditions in short sleeves, recovered after being struck on the forearm by Marte’s 115.5 mph line drive to throw him out at first base. Fortunately, X-rays confirmed no fractures.
In a key moment during the third inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s single followed by Wells’ double placed the Yankees in scoring position, but Gallen thwarted their offense by striking out both Jasson Domínguez and Ben Rice.
An essential stat highlighted Gurriel’s resurgence; prior to his crucial homerun, he had been without a hit in his last 34 at-bats against the Yankees, stretching back to August 2022.
The final game of the series will see Yankees’ Carlos Carrasco and Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly take the mound on Thursday.