Brandon Pfaadt gave the Diamondbacks exactly what they needed yesterday, working five innings and allowing just one run while keeping the bullpen out of trouble despite a modest pitch count limit. Max Kepler also finally broke through for a game, the first time he’s done that since joining Arizona. Now the Diamondbacks are trying to keep their perfect record against the Giants in 2026 intact and stretch that streak to nine straight wins over the Bay Area club.
Tonight’s matchup puts the spotlight on Zac Gallen, and the question hanging over him is blunt: will the real Zac Gallen please stand up? There’s a real possibility the version we’ve been seeing lately is the one Arizona has.
His last outing came with both promise and pain. If Torey Lovullo had not sent him back out for the seventh inning, Gallen would have finished with a quality start.
Instead, the damage in the first inning was ugly, and his shortened seventh was even worse.
Still, this is a chance for Gallen to steady things while the Giants are down and the Diamondbacks are getting the benefit of home cooking. A solid outing would keep Arizona’s momentum moving in the right direction. It would also help keep the Diamondbacks above .500, a meaningful marker with the trade deadline approaching.
The lineups for the game are set, with Luis Arraez leading off at second for the Giants and Ketel Marte doing the same for the Diamondbacks. Trevor McDonald gets the start for San Francisco, while Gallen takes the ball for Arizona.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Questions Around Druw Jones Lovullo And The Deadline Just Intensified
The Diamondbacks front office has not lost faith in Druw Jones, even as the bigger picture around the organization keeps sharpening. There is still confidence in the 2022 No. 2 overall pick, and the club continues to point to a deeper wave of young talent, with Demetrio Crisantes and David Hagaman among the names drawing attention behind him.
The more immediate tension is where this all leads for Mike Hazen and Torey Lovullo as the trade deadline approaches. Hazen would prefer to buy rather than sell, and first base has emerged as an obvious area of need after the club has not gotten much production there this season. Lovullo, meanwhile, remains in a position where the fan criticism is loud but the internal sense is that his job security is intact, which only adds to the sense that the next move is about pushing forward, not starting over. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Linked To Another Rotation Target Fans Have Wanted
The rotation market is already starting to take shape, and Reid Detmers has quickly emerged as one of the more appealing names on it. The 26-year-old Angels left-hander is drawing interest because he is still under club control through 2028, giving any acquiring team more than just a short-term fix. For a Diamondbacks club that has kept an eye on pitching help, that kind of profile naturally fits the kind of search that tends to intensify as trade season moves closer.
Detmers has also backed up the buzz with a season that has been steady enough to keep front offices engaged, including a solid June stretch that strengthened his case as a possible frontline starter. Arizona is mentioned among the teams checking in, along with the Nationals, Athletics and Cardinals, so this is not a quiet pursuit with one clear favorite. The appeal is obvious, but so is the competition, and that is usually where these conversations start to get interesting. [Read more 🡒]
Zac Gallens Slide Is Becoming A Real Problem For The D-Backs
Zac Gallens latest outing only deepened the concern around a season that has gone sideways for the Diamondbacks most important starter. In the loss to the Giants, he allowed six earned runs on six hits over 5.2 innings, and Arizonas unbeaten run against San Francisco in 2026 went away with it. For a pitcher who was once among the NLs best and who got renewed confidence from the club this offseason, the slide has become hard to ignore.
The bigger issue is that the results keep stacking up in the same direction. Gallen now carries the highest ERA in MLB at 6.36 and has not picked up a win since June 14, a drought that has fueled plenty of fan frustration and left the Diamondbacks searching for more reliable starts. At a time when Arizona needs stability from the top of its rotation, every rough night only adds to the pressure on Gallen to turn it around soon. [Read more 🡒]