MILWAUKEE (AP) — Zac Gallen pitched seven strong innings for his ninth win and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Wednesday.
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Arizona won for only the fourth time in its last 18 games in Milwaukee, but took two of three from the Brewers in the series.
Gallen (9-2) limited the Brewers to one run and three hits. He walked one and struck out four. He is tied with three other pitchers for the NL lead in wins and remains among the leaders in strikeouts and ERA. He allowed a solo home run to Raimel Tapia in the fifth inning and otherwise kept the Brewers in check.
“I was just trying to make pitches and keep us in the game,” Gallen said. “I knew our guys were going to break through at some point.”
Despite his stellar showing overall this season, Gallen had struggled on the road, carrying a 1-2 record with a 5.79 ERA in seven starts coming in. He is 7-0 with a 1.00 ERA in eight home starts.
“Obviously, pitching at home there’s a comfort level,” Gallen said. “You sleep in your own bed. You’re familiar with the surroundings of the stadium. But nothing that has really stood out to me that I need to change.”
Scott McGough pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts to close out the victory and pick up his fourth save.
“We scored one run. We’ve got to do better than that,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Gallen’s a good pitcher. We had balls in play pretty good today, but we didn’t square enough up and didn’t create any traffic.”
The NL West-leading Diamondbacks broke through in the sixth against Brewers reliever Elvis Peguero (1-1). Pavin Smith walked with one out and scored to tie it when center fielder Joey Wiemer failed to cleanly field Emmanuel Rivera’s sharply hit single up the middle. Rivera scored on Alek Thomas’ line-drive single to right to give Arizona a 2-1 lead.
The Diamondbacks added to their lead in the eighth on Gabriel Moreno’s run-scoring double off Trevor Megill. Moreno came around to score on Geraldo Perdomo’s base hit to push the margin to 4-1. Rivera’s RBI single in the eighth gave Arizona a four-run cushion.
The home run by Tapia, who signed with the Brewers last week after being released by Boston, broke a scoreless tie. Tapia is 10 for 18 in his career against Gallen. The homer was Tapia’s first hit with the Brewers after a 0-for-11 start. It was his first homer since April 8 against Detroit.
“I feel like there are just some of those guys in your career that just see you well. He’s one of those guys,” Gallen said. “He’s been a thorn in our side as an organization going back to when he was in Colorado. He made a good swing today. I felt like I made a pretty solid pitch.”
The Brewers fell to 1 1/2 games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central after the Reds came from behind to beat the Rockies on Wednesday for their 11th consecutive win.
Milwaukee starter Julio Teheran continued his resurgence after a more than two-year absence from the major leagues, giving up just two hits in five scoreless innings. Teheran has worked at least five innings and allowed two or fewer runs in six straight starts, the second longest active streak in the majors.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: OF Lourdes Gurriel wasn’t in the starting lineup. “He had some fatigue and tightness in his leg,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
ON THE RUN
The Diamondbacks tied a club record with seven stolen seven bases, with Perdomo and Corbin Carroll each swiping a pair. “We identified something,” Lovullo said. “Our guys do homework and pay attention and take advantage of some situations.”
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Tommy Henry (3-1, 4.66 ERA) takes the mound on Thursday when Arizona faces the Nationals in Washington in the makeup of a game postponed on June 8 because of air quality issues associated with wildfires in Canada.
Brewers: LHP Wade Miley (4-2, 3.28) gets the start in the opener of three-game series against Cleveland on Friday. Miley threw a no-hitter as a member of the Reds in his last outing against the Guardians in Cleveland on May 7, 2021. He will be opposed by RHP Shane Bieber (5-4, 3.51).
TOP PHOTO: FILE – A Milwaukee Brewers mascot cheers in the empty stands during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)