Diamondbacks Game Preview #139: 9/11 @ Rockies

Zac Gallen comes into today's game with a 41.1 inning scoreless streak. He needs just to get through the first frame at Coors Field this afternoon, to set a new record for a Diamondback, the previous record being the 42.0 inning streak by Brandon Webb in 2007. If Gallen goes further, he'll continue to move up the rankings. He starts the day with the 8th longest scoreless streak in the live-ball era - here are the details of each of those.

1. Orel Hershiser, Dodgers, 59 IP, Aug. 30-Sept. 28, 1988
2. Don Drysdale, Dodgers, 58 IP, May 14-June 8, 1968
3. Bob Gibson, Cardinals, 47 IP, June 2-26, 1968
4. Zack Greinke, Dodgers, 45 2/3 IP, June 18-July 26, 2015
5. Carl Hubbell, Giants, 45 1/3 IP, July 13-Aug. 1, 1933
6. Sal Maglie, Giants, 45 IP, Aug. 16-Sept. 13, 1950
7. Brandon Webb, D-backs, 42 IP, July 20-Aug. 17, 2007
8. Zac Gallen, D-backs, 41 1/3 IP, Aug. 8-Sept. 4, 2022

You can see, a scoreless outing like its predecessors for Zac, and he could potentially end the day in third spot. However, there is likely no worse spot to try and sustain a scoreless streak than Coors Field. There have been 146 starts in Denver this season, but only 15 of them (5 by the Rockies, 10 by visitors) have not allowed a run, so barely 10%. The odds are not in Gallen’s favor. However, against that, Zac is actually one of those 15, having blanked Colorado earlier in the streak. He tossed seven scoreless innings against the Rockies on August 13, so clearly knows how to pitch there. He has yet to lose in five Coors starts, possessing a 2.03 ERA in the ballpark.

That is actually tied with former Diamondback Taijuan Walker for the best ERA there, by any pitcher with 5+ starts at Coors. Both men have allowed 7 ER over 31 innings, but Gallen’s K:BB of 29:5 is better than Walker's (30:12), so he probably wins the tiebreaker. If Zac can avoid defeat today, he'll join Adam Wainwright and Jordan Zimmermann as the only pitchers to go more than five career starts at Coors, without having taken an L. Of course, Gallen has an ongoing lossless streak across all outings, now at 15. Dodging defeat here would tie him with Robbie Ray's 2007-08 run of 16 starts, for 4th best with Arizona. So, a lot potentially to look forward to in this contest!