The 29-year-old right-hander punched out four batters on the evening while allowing only one base on balls. He served up a solo homer to Drake Baldwin in the fourth inning, then the Braves scratched out a pair of unearned runs later in the frame after an error by Eugenio Suarez had extended the inning. Gallen got 12 whiffs on 89 pitches on the night, registering a strong CSW of 36 percent. He’ll see if he can replicate this strong performance when he brings a 5.13 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 70/33 K/BB ratio (73 2/3 innings) into Sunday’s showdown against the Reds in Cincinnati.

Gallen tapped into the reserves to pitch out of a big jam, fueled by a Jordan Lawlar error, in the fifth. In retiring Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds and Alexander Canario with the bases loaded, Gallen threw five pitches at least 94.0 mph, topping out at 95.6 mph. He had touched 94 mph just once previously in the contest, and when he came back out for the sixth, there were no more 94s to be found. He gave up a walk and two singles then before being pulled, and the inherited runners came around to score in what turned into a five-run inning for the Pirates. Gallen has given up 19 runs over 21 1/3 innings in his last four outings, taking his ERA from 4.37 to 5.54. He was a little stronger today than the line indicated, but in addition to performing better himself, he needs the Arizona offense to get back to scoring more runs if he’s going to be useful in mixed leagues.

The 29-year-old right-hander struggled with his command in this one, issuing four walks while striking out four. Gallen threw just 55 of his 100 pitches for strikes on the evening. All of the damage done against him came in his final inning of work as he walked Ivan Herrera with the bases loaded and then gave up a three-run triple to Nolan Arenado, the final hitter that he faced. Gallen got 11 whiffs on the night, posting an underwhelming CSW of only 24 percent. He’ll attempt to bounce back as he carries a disappointing 5.25 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 63/29 K/BB ratio (61 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Pirates.