UNC Baseball: Zac Gallen pitches a masterpiece at Wrigley

Former UNC baseball pitcher Zac Gallen pitched a masterpiece for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.

With the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle of a playoff race, former UNC baseball pitcher Zac Gallen through a complete game masterpiece on Friday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs.

Gallen went the full nine innings in the Diamondbacks’ 1-0 victory over the Cubs. He struck out nine batters, allowing three hits and one walk on 107 pitches. Gallen had a 66.3% strike percentage, with 71 of his 107 pitches being strikes.

The Diamondbacks scored in the eighth inning when the leadoff hitter Corbin Carroll hit a single to right field that scored Lourdes Gurriel Jr from second base for the winning run. The win for the Diamondbacks moved them into the third and final National League Wildcard spot, one game ahead of the Miami Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds.

The former Tar Heel is currently 9th in ESPN’s Cy Young Predictor for the 2023 season. He has played and started in 30 games this season with a 15-7 win/loss record and a 3.31 ERA. He has a 1.08 WHIP in 187.2 innings pitched and 195 strikeouts for the season.

The Diamondbacks have 20 games remaining in the season, which will conclude with a three game series against the Houston Astros. The former UNC baseball player has yet to make a playoff apperance in his five-year MLB career, but will be hoping to power the Diamondbacks to their first playoff apperance since 2017, when they advanced to the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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