Zac Gallen was electric on Wednesday night in the Bronx, and even Yankees manager Aaron Boone had no choice but to tip his cap to the Diamondbacks’ ace following a 4-3 Arizona victory.
“He was really dealing,” Boone said postgame when asked about what made Gallen so effective.
“He was really dealing.”
Aaron Boone talks about what made Zac Gallen so effective tonight. pic.twitter.com/0bckDzSGPb
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 3, 2025
That might be an understatement. Gallen tied a career-high with 13 strikeouts, allowed just three hits, didn’t issue a single walk, and carved through a Yankees lineup featuring stars like Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. Over 6 2/3 shutout innings, he collected an eye-popping 24 swings and misses — the most in any start of his career.
On a frigid, blustery night with temperatures hovering in the low 40s and wind chills making it feel much colder, Gallen took the mound in short sleeves — a nod to his New Jersey roots and cold-weather high school days. If the Yankees were hoping the elements would give them a leg up, Gallen quickly erased those hopes.
Yankees’ late rally not enough as D-backs hold on
“I try to use it to my advantage,” Gallen said of the weather. “Growing up in this, it kind of takes me back to being a kid.”
He wasted no time attacking the zone, striking out reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge three times and navigating his only real jam in the second inning with back-to-back strikeouts to strand runners at second and third. Gallen credited his catcher Gabriel Moreno, who called nearly the entire game — a rarity, as Gallen often uses PitchCom to call pitches himself.
“Gabi had a real good feel for what they were trying to do,” Gallen said. “We both prepped a pretty good amount to kind of understand what we had to do to get those guys.”
The Diamondbacks gave Gallen an early cushion, scoring four runs in the first two innings off Yankees starter Carlos Rodón. A two-run homer from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the first and RBI contributions from Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte in the second helped Arizona secure its first-ever regular season series win at Yankee Stadium.
Despite Arizona’s bats going silent after the second inning, Gallen’s dominance kept the Yankees off the scoreboard until the ninth. Boone and the Yankees managed a rally against the D-backs bullpen, as Anthony Volpe lifted a three-run homer off A.J. Puk to bring New York within one run. But Puk held firm, striking out Jasson Dominguez to seal the win and ensure Gallen’s brilliance didn’t go to waste.
For Boone, there was no denying the impact Gallen had on the outcome.
“He had good stuff, obviously the fastball had life, the breaking ball was sharp,” Boone said. “You could tell he was in rhythm early and when he’s on like that, he’s tough.”
With this bounce-back outing after a rocky Opening Day, Gallen once again reminded the league why he’s firmly entrenched among baseball’s elite arms — even in the cold, even in the Bronx, and even against the New York Yankees.
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