The Arizona Diamondbacks have been a pleasant surprise thus far in 2023.
The team had a busy offseason, adding pieces such as Andrew Chafin, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Gabriel Moreno, Evan Longoria, and Kyle Lewis.
Those moves put the team in a position to surprise some people in 2023 and become a contender.
11 games into the season, they lead the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres by a game in the NL West.
On Monday, Zac Gallen gave them an epic performance to put them in front of the rest of the pack.
He threw seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits while walking just one batter and striking out 11.
On Twitter, MLB posted a graphic featuring Gallen’s line from Monday night’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Zac Gallen shoved tonight as the @DBacks win their 4th game in a row! pic.twitter.com/ctaV3omsJY
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2023
Gallen certainly had a strong performance against the Brewers, a team that has also been red hot to start the season.
Thanks to Gallen’s dominance, the Diamondbacks won their fourth consecutive game and improved their record to 7-4, which tied them with the Atlanta Braves for the second-best record in the National League.
Gallen also earned his first win of the season, lowering his ERA to 4.58.
He allowed five runs in his start against the Dodgers on Opening Day and four against the Padres on April 4.
Fortunately for the D’Backs, he was locked in against the Brewers and delivered his best start of the year to propel them into sole possession of first place in the NL West.
The right-hander won 12 games in 2022 and posted a 2.54 ERA in 31 starts.
