Notes: Gallen wants more in debut against A's

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Zac Gallen got in the amount of work the D-backs wanted him to in his first Cactus League appearance in Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the A's at Salt River Fields.

It’s hard to give precise numbers from Gallen’s start since he was taken out and re-entered the game twice, which is allowed at this point in Spring Training. The goal was to get him four “ups” -- to sit down and get up four times -- and 60 pitches.

Gallen threw 62 pitches and he even got the chance to practice his lobbying for the regular season when he tried to convince manager Torey Lovullo not to take him out.

“I wanted to get one more batter,” Gallen said. “I felt like I started to have a better feel as that at-bat went on, things started to get timed up. I’m always fighting for more.”

There was some rust, Gallen walked four, and he was still adjusting to the pitch timer. In the first, Gallen fanned first baseman Ryan Noda, who felt like Gallen threw the ball before he was ready in the box.

Home-plate umpire Bruce Dreckman let the strikeout stand, but Gallen said the umpire told him after the half-inning that he was too quick with the pitch. While Gallen had used the pitch timer during the simulated game, this was his first experience with it in an actual game.

“Everything is about trying to make the hitters uncomfortable,” Gallen said of his pitching philosophy. “I was experimenting with coming set somewhat early, like 12 seconds, and then holding the ball until three or four, trying to see if I could make the hitters uncomfortable at the same time.

“I think it was a little bit of an adjustment for me, too. Having a different uniform out there, it changes everything. I was definitely experimenting with looks to second base, holding the ball, all those things.”

The experiments will no doubt continue the rest of the spring for Gallen, but he likes where he’s at.

“Everything felt like it was coming out good,” he said. “I felt like I had decent movement. Just fine-tuning those things, really, is what it comes down to now. I don’t know how many [starts] I’ll have left. I would imagine at least three or four. Now playing catch and kind of getting onto a real five-day routine would be the next step of this.”

Familia keeps impressing

Non-roster invitee Jeurys Familia continued his impressive spring -- throwing a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts. The veteran right-hander has not allowed a run in four outings as he attempts to win a job in the bullpen.

“He’s pounded the zone [with] two pitches,” Lovullo said of Familia. “And a lot of swing and miss. He’s doing a good job. Very good job.”

B game action

Ryne Nelson, who is competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, pitched in a “B” game against the Rangers in Surprise. He allowed four runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings.

Nelson walked one and struck out six while throwing 38 pitches.