Zac Gallen makes no excuses following poor display in Diamondbacks loss - "I didn't do my job"

Zac Gallen did not have a good start. Gabriel Moreno left the game after Gallen had thrown only five pitches. The Arizona Diamondbacks' ace had never experienced anything like this before.

The Diamondbacks have fallen behind in the postseason for the first time after losing Game 1 of the National League Championship Series to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3. Zac Gallen got brutally honest after the pitcher's woeful NLCS game against the Phillies. He said:

"I felt my stuff was fine actually. It was coming out nicely but missed some parts. I'll go back and see if I can make some pitches. They were aggressive so. I didn't do my job in keeping it close enough to give us a chance to win."

Over five innings, right-hander Zac Gallen took a lot of hits. In the first two innings, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos all hit solo home runs. In six innings of play against Zack Wheeler, a right-hander for the Phillies, the Diamondbacks only managed three baserunners.

Zac Gallen's connection with Philadelphia

Once, Gallen's neighborhood team was the Phillies. He lived near Philadelphia while growing up, and he has never tried to hide his connection to the city.

Gallen grew up close to Philadelphia. When he was 11 years old, he relocated to the neighborhood of Gibbsboro, New Jersey, which is only 14 miles from the city where he was born.

The Cardinals selected Gallen in the 2016 draft. 18 months later, he was sent to the Miami Marlins, never getting the chance to play in a major league game in St. Louis.

Gallen also spoke about playing the game against the Phillies:

"It's interesting for sure to start Game 1 in the NLCS at the field, stadium you grew up coming to as a kid."

He was named the National League's All-Star Game starting pitcher in 2023.