Zac Gallen seeks a momentum-shifting victory as the Arizona Diamondbacks face the Tampa Bay Rays' explosive lineup and elite pitching rotation in a high-stakes road series with major postseason implications.
The Tampa Bay Rays just put up 13 runs and made news around the baseball world for their near no-hitter.
Now, after an unexpected off-day, the Arizona Diamondbacks are tasked with playing the 45-33 Rays.
Tampa Bay is currently second in the American League East Division, but their record is better than every team in the AL Central and AL West. They've drawn the short end of the stick, but a postseason berth is not out of the question for a team who could be relocating in the coming years.
As for Arizona, they picked up a pair of solid wins but their momentum came to a halt due to a rainout in St. Louis. Now, it's all on the shoulders of Zac Gallen who's looking to get this team their third straight win for the first time since the end of May.
Friday, June 26
Zac Gallen (3-6, 6.10 ERA) vs. Nick Martinez (6-2, 2.73 ERA)
Gallen would love to mirror Martinez's numbers, but that's simply no longer the player he is here in 2026. The Diamondbacks still have faith in the 30-year-old, but his numbers have steadily been on the rise each of the last four seasons.
Martinez has given up three earned runs in each of his last three starts. He has a 6.04 ERA in the month of June, so he's certainly not unhittable, and Arizona may be catching him at the perfect time.
Saturday, June 27
Jose Cabrera (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBD
The Rays have yet to name their game two starter, but Arizona's isn't exactly this big name either. Cabrera is coming off a stellar five inning outing on Sunday, June 21, and now he's tasked with making his first big league start away from home. At 24 years old, it's sink or swim time for the Dominican Republic native.
Sunday, June 28
Merrill Kelly (5-7, 5.71 ERA) vs. Drew Rasmussen (6-4, 2.62 ERA)
It's bad enough the Diamondbacks are stuck facing Martinez in the opener, but then they have to close out the series against one of the Rays best, if not best, pitchers.
Rasmussen heads into the series finale with 89 strikeouts, by far the most of any pitcher starting this series. For reference, Gallen and Kelly have 96 combined this season.
Kelly has taken a loss in each of his last four starts, so this team would love to have their upcoming three-game slate at Tropicana Field end with Kelly getting back on track.
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