PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks fell behind early and never fully recovered in a 16-8 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.
Minnesota struck first against Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen, building an early 2-0 lead in the opening inning. Gallen settled briefly over the next few frames but continued to face pressure as the Twins extended their advantage in the fourth inning, pushing the lead to 6-0.
The right-hander exited after a difficult outing. Gallen finished with 12 hits allowed, two walks, eight runs and two strikeouts over four innings.
The Twins broke the game open in the fifth inning, capitalizing on Arizona pitching struggles. Minnesota plated 10 runs in the frame, highlighted by a grand slam from Byron Buxton, stretching the lead to 16-0.
Arizona turned to Philip Abner in relief, who helped record the final out of the inning and temporarily stop the Twins’ surge.
The Diamondbacks responded in the bottom of the fifth when Joe Barrosa connected on a two-run home run, scoring Adrian Del Castillo to put Arizona on the board.
Arizona showed life late, continuing to chip away at the deficit. The Diamondbacks added runs in the middle innings and later mounted a rally in the seventh, including a key triple by Ildemaro Vargas that drove in three runs as Arizona cut into the lead.
The Diamondbacks scored eight runs overall but were unable to overcome the early deficit.
In the late innings, Arizona used bullpen arms in unconventional situations, with Vargas also taking the mound and helping the Diamondbacks escape a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. He later closed out the game in the ninth, preventing further Minnesota scoring.
Gallen was tagged with the loss as Arizona dropped to 39-37 on the season. The series is now tied 1-1 heading into Sunday’s rubber match. First pitch is schedule for 12:15pm at Chase Field.
The first 15,000 dads will receive the gift of baseball and the long-awaited Father’s Day polo. ♦︎
Discover more from En Breve News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
