Zac Gallen runs out of gas in dominant Marlins Park debut as Nationals rally to win

Zac Gallen had set an expectation in his MLB debut, even though Don Mattingly knew better than anyone expectations can change quickly for a rookie. Still, those expectations were for Gallen to pitch like a rookie. His debut Thursday was brilliant in doses, as he held the St. Louis Cardinals to just one run, and frustrating in others, as he only lasted five innings with wavering command.

For three innings in a 7-5 loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, Gallen mostly pitched to expectations — he kept the Nationals off the board even as his pitch count quickly climbed — until the Miami Marlins needed him most. He gave them a one-run lead in the bottom of the third, then went into shutdown mode, dominating his next two innings.

In his sixth and final frame, Gallen went back to doing what young pitchers do. Pitching into the sixth inning for the first time and facing the top of Washington’s lineup for the third, Gallen couldn’t record a single out. Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon all whacked singles into the outfield to tie the game at 1-1, and chase the starting pitcher to an ovation from the 6,276 at Marlins Park. Two batters later, Matt Adams sent everyone home with a three-run homer to give the Nationals a 4-1 lead.

“When you get through the lineup the third time, guys have seen enough pitches and they don’t want to get two strikes or deeper in the count, so I think they just ambushed a few pitches,” Gallen said. “Probably better pitches would’ve been early outs.”

Two dominant innings in the middle of an ultimately disappointing outing will leave Miami (30-48) thrilled with the promise of their latest rookie starter.

Gallen’s first three innings weren’t far off from the standard he set last week in St. Louis. He kept Washington (39-40) off the board entirely with three strikeouts and only one hit allowed, but he walked a batter and needed 50 pitches to get through three.

In the fourth, Gallen (0-1) got a chance at a shutdown inning and he locked in like he hadn’t yet in the Majors.

Patrick Corbin matched Gallen all game and the starting pitcher mowed through the first eight hitters he faced before Gallen came up with two outs in the bottom of the third. Gallen worked the count to 2-2, fouled off a couple pitches and then ripped a hard-hit single up the middle to start a two-out rally. Miguel Rojas walked to move Gallen into scoring position and outfielder Harold Ramirez sent the right-handed pitcher all the way home from second base when Juan Soto couldn’t quite make a diving catch in left field. Gallen returned to the mound with a lead to challenge the middle of the Nationals’ order in Miami.

“It’s kind of been my thing this season,” Gallen said. “I kind of settle in after the second inning.”

The righty’s first test was Soto and the two battled to a full count. The outfielder fouled off a couple pitches before Gallen got Soto to whiff on a cutter down and away. Matt Adams was next and the slugger foul tipped a curveball back into catcher Bryan Holaday’s glove for a second strikeout. To best Victor Robles, Gallen went to his slider and got the outfielder to chase a pitch in the dirt to strike out the side.

Gallen struck out two more in the fifth to keep his 1-0 lead intact. In his second turn through the order, Gallen struck out six batters using all five of his pitches as putaway pitches. After 86 pitches in five innings, Mattingly let him hit with a runner on first in the bottom of the fifth and come back out for the sixth for the first time in his two-game career.

It was one inning too many. Gallen stopped fooling Washington’s star-laden lineup and Turner, Eaton and Rendon singled on three straight pitches, all with an exit velocity faster than 93 mph. The Marlins entrusted Chen with a high-leverage situation and the pitcher couldn’t handle it. A three-run deficit was too much against Corbin, who finished fifth in National League Cy Young Award voting last season. Corbin (7-5) allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings with nine strikeouts.

“Overall, you kind of make a call with a young guy like that: Do you let him have his five innings and get him out of there and leave it positive or do you let him keep growing?” Mattingly said. “Obviously, it didn’t go good today at the end of that, but I’m sure he’s going to learn from it and go from there.”

This and that

▪ Neil Walker got the day off Wednesday after returning from the injured list Monday. The switch-hitter is frequently moved to the bench against left-handed pitchers, which Corbin is, but the Marlins want to ease the utilityman back into action as he returns from a right quad injury. The plan from the moment Walker returned was for the 33-year-old to start against righties Tuesday and Thursday, and get a day off Wednesday.

▪ Catcher Jorge Alfaro, who is recovering from a concussion which landed him on the seven-day IL on Friday, took early batting practice on the field Wednesday.

This story was originally published June 26, 2019 at 10:29 PM.