Gallen looks to keep up D-backs' 'easy, carefree' mindset

LOS ANGELES -- D-backs ace Zac Gallen has always pitched with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, using any perceived slights to fuel his rise to one of the best starters in the National League over the past five years.

As he prepares to take the mound for a pivotal start in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the heavily favored Dodgers on Monday, Gallen is determined to keep proving people wrong and show that the D-backs should not be overlooked this postseason.

“I think I said it in Milwaukee: Nobody expects us to be here,” Gallen said Sunday. “We're kind of playing with house money. You see us play our best baseball when we're playing kind of easy, carefree. And I think that's just the mentality I'll have out there, the mentality the other 26 guys are going to have, too.”

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That underdog persona has certainly served Arizona well thus far. After securing the third and final NL Wild Card spot, the D-backs swept the Brewers in the Wild Card Series before making a statement with an 11-2 rout of the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. They’ll now hand the ball to Gallen as they attempt to reel off their fourth consecutive win on the road and seize a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series.

“I think going in with ease is definitely the wrong mindset, especially against the Dodgers, especially against that lineup,” Gallen said. “They're going to come out firing. But I also don't think there's pressure.”

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While Gallen is navigating the postseason for the first time, he already has some experience pitching in big games, as he started for the NL in the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle and earned the win in the D-backs’ 5-2 series-clinching victory at Milwaukee on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old right-hander had to grind through a 32-pitch first inning in his last outing, but he managed to overcome the shaky start and deliver six innings of two-run ball for Arizona. He retired 14 of the final 18 batters he faced and will be aiming to keep that positive momentum going in his matchup with the Dodgers.

“He expects perfection from himself, and we know nobody's perfect,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “But he strives for it with every pitch he throws. I think he can reverse course on certain things. I think because of that first inning he'll have to go out in a very motivated way over these next three, four days, land on the bump tomorrow and go out and never let something like that happen again. I think he's in a good spot.”

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Gallen is 1-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 11 career starts against Los Angeles, and he’s still looking for his first win at Dodger Stadium, where he’s 0-4 with a 4.29 ERA over six outings. Still, as Merrill Kelly showed on Saturday, there’s no better time to flip the script than in October. Kelly had struggled against Los Angeles (0-11 with a 5.49 ERA in 16 regular-season starts) until his strong win in Game 1.

“It's been a season-long, I guess you could say grind, making sure that [my delivery] feels how I want it to,” Gallen said. “You can bring so many things into the game, but there's nothing you can replicate to get out there with the adrenaline -- runners on base, guy standing in the box, stuff like that. But I felt all right going into the game in Milwaukee. I felt like some timing things clicked. So it's kind of what my focus is right now.”