Aaron Boone gets 100% real about Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen after 4-3 loss
Zac Gallen was electric on Wednesday night in the Bronx, and even Yankees manager Aaron Boone had no choice but to tip his cap to the Diamondbacks’ ace following a 4-3 Arizona victory.
“He was really dealing,” Boone said postgame when asked about what made Gallen so effective.
That might be an understatement. Gallen tied a career-high with 13 strikeouts, allowed just three hits, didn’t issue a single walk, and carved through a Yankees lineup featuring stars like Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. Over 6 2/3 shutout innings, he collected an eye-popping 24 swings and misses — the most in any start of his career.
On a frigid, blustery night with temperatures hovering in the low 40s and wind chills making it feel much colder, Gallen took the mound in short sleeves — a nod to his New Jersey roots and cold-weather high school days. If the Yankees were hoping the elements would give them a leg up, Gallen quickly erased those hopes.
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
“I try to use it to my advantage,” Gallen said of the weather. “Growing up in this, it kind of takes me back to being a kid.”
He wasted no time attacking the zone, striking out reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge three times and navigating his only real jam in the second inning with back-to-back strikeouts to strand runners at second and third. Gallen credited his catcher Gabriel Moreno, who called nearly the entire game — a rarity, as Gallen often uses PitchCom to call pitches himself.
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