The Diamondbacks have won two straight over the Los Angeles Angeles by a combined score of 9-3 and now send out the team's best pitcher to make it three.
Gallen bolsters the most wins in the big leagues with 10, behind Arizona's stellar offense and his fine pitching. The righty is firmly in the Cy Young conversation with a 3.02 ERA and pinpoint control on the mound.
Can Gallen lead the team to another win in essentially a coin toss on the road against the Angels? Let's check out the odds and make a bet:
Diamondbacks vs. Angels odds, run line and total
Diamondbacks vs. Angels prediction and pick
I'm not stepping in front of the D-Backs right now, especially with Gallen on the mound, who has actually been unlucky on the mound this season.
Gallen's Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is lower than his ERA, meaning that he has been better than his number indicate with some poor fielding and variance when the ball is in play. Gallen's FIP sits at an MLB best 2.75 for qualified starters.
While the Angels bolster a strong lineup around Shohei Ohtani that is in the top 10 in batting average against righties, Gallen's ability to limit walks (less than two per nine innings) will be key to avoid traffic on the base paths.
This matchup sets up the Arizona lineup as well. The team is 10th in batting average against left handed pitching, which they are set to face on Sunday with the Angels starting Reid Detmers.
Arizona has a comparable lineup to Los Angeles, but it's the pitching of Gallen that gives me confidence on the D-Backs to win on the road yet again.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.