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Zac Gallen is turning out to be a good starting pitcher. In related news, Merrill Kelly is turning into one of the premier non-closing relief pitchers in all of baseball. Together, the two of them combined to shut out the Cincinnati Reds in game one of the three-game Independence Day weekend series.
Breyvic Valera opened the game by singling off Gallen. That was a short-lived victory for the Reds. Seven pitches later, the Diamondbacks were headed to the dugout to get their licks in. Things got even tougher for the Reds in the second. It was then that Gallen struck out the side. Shogo Akiyama led off the third with a single to Ryan Mountcastle at third. He finished the inning a handful of pitches later, standing on second, thanks to a sacrifice bunt by R.J. Alaniz.
On the offensive side of things, Arizona had a much better game than the others they have had of late. The Diamondbacks put up tallies in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. The game’s winning run was the first run, scored in the fourth inning. That came courtesy of a one-out home run by Ketel Marte that was absolutely crushed, flying 456 feet, landing beyond the pool in right center. Brandon Marsh, appears to be finding his Major League stroke. He gave the Snakes some insurance with a run-scoring double in the fifth inning. Then, just to put a dagger in the hearts of the Reds, Ketel Marte decided to muscle up again in the seventh. The young second baseman clobbered another bomb to right center - this one traveling 459 feet.
How bad did the Reds look at the plate on Friday? Merrill Kelly came in as relief for Zac Gallen, who dominated through 6 1⁄3 innings. It only took Kelly 19 pitches to get the final seven outs, and that included allowing a hit.
Final Score: CIN 0 - AZ 7
The player of the game was Ketel Marte. Marte’s two bombs combined for more than 900 feet of travel and scored three runs for the Snakes. In addition to having a great day at the plate, Marte kept busy on the infield, as the Reds decided to try picking on him instead of Ahemd. The results turned out the same.
The two teams will be at it again tomorrow for a holiday special. Luke Weaver (5-6, 3.66) will take the bump for Arizona. The Reds will respond with Tyler Mahle (3-6, 5.35)