Gallen drops duel with Ryu in LA opener
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LOS ANGELES -- Rookie right-hander Zac Gallen had no small task ahead of him when he took the mound on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. In just his fifth Marlins start, he was facing the best team in baseball, on the road in front of a sold-out crowd, going up against the Major League ERA leader in Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Gallen handled the challenge well, allowing two runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings as the Marlins dropped the series opener against the Dodgers, 2-1. It was Gallen’s longest Major League start.
“I thought he attacked, got himself in good counts, stayed on the hunt,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “That’s the kind of game that’s really good for him.”
Gallen, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Marlins’ No. 9 prospect, struck out five and did a solid job of limiting damage despite a lack of sharpness -- he issued four walks, and just 54 of his 95 pitches went for strikes. Even so, he managed to keep Los Angeles off the board through the first five innings, working in and out of jams to quash a couple of potential rallies.
What was key for Gallen was fastball command that was greatly improved from his previous outing against the Mets. According to Statcast, 19 of his 42 fastballs went for strikes vs. New York. On Friday, 31 of his 51 fastballs were strikes.
“I thought it was a lot better compared my start against the Mets,” said Gallen. “Felt like I had a little bit better command going, too, on the glove side. … I think that was kind of key tonight, that I had success for five innings.”
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One of the biggest tests for Gallen was going up against National League MVP candidate Cody Bellinger. Gallen didn’t let Bellinger put the ball in play, walking him once on a questionable ball-four call and striking him out twice.
“I wish it would’ve been three times,” Gallen said with a smile. “But I ran into some spots [against Bellinger] where I had to make pitches, so I was happy with the way it turned out.”
His strikeout of Bellinger in the sixth would also be the last out he recorded on the night. His pitch count up to 95, Gallen exited with the bases loaded and a 1-0 lead. Two of those runners came in to score against reliever Jarlin Garcia, though one was the result of a fielding error by second baseman Starlin Castro.
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Despite the outcome, Gallen was pleased with his ability to stay focused and perform in front of a loud crowd of over 52,000, an environment that was new to him.
“It’s pretty cool. You can’t recreate that at any level you play at,” said Gallen. “I really didn’t pay too much mind to it. … I just go out there and it’s like the same game.”