Yesterday, Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen may have pitched the game of his life against the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers.
Arizona obviously is already eliminated from postseason contention and the Dodgers have already wrapped up the NL West.
But that doesn’t mean that they can’t play a little spoiler on their rivals, who are trying to clinch the No. 1 in the National League.
Gallen pitched eight innings against the juggernaut Dodgers, allowing just one run on two hits and striking out 13 without walking a single batter.
On Twitter, Bob Nightengale of USA Today posed some interesting questions about Gallen, essentially proposing some “What If” scenarios on the Miami Marlins potentially keeping him and the St. Louis Cardinals not trading him in the first place.
Arizona #Dbacks ace Zac Gallen with finest start of his career against the mighty #Dodgers
8 IP
2 hits
1 run
0 walks
13 strikeouts (career high)
Can you imagine if the #Marlins kept him for a 1-2 punch with Sandy Alcantara?
Or if the #STLCards still had him in their rotation?— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 23, 2022
What If?
Things could look a lot different.
First, let’s unpack the Marlins situation.
They could have had Gallen in their rotation next to Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez had they not traded him.
That would have made for one scary rotation and could have potentially made them a threat in the 2020 playoffs.
But Gallen first came to Miami from the Cardinals along with Alcantara in the Marcell Ozuna trade.
Imagine what their rotation could have looked like had they not made that trade.
They could have both Gallen and Alcantara at the top, and still have Adam Wainwright‘s veteran experience.
It would be hard to imagine a better rotation in baseball if St. Louis had never pulled the trigger on that deal.
Now, Gallen is a key building block for the Diamondbacks as they look towards the future and trying to build the next great team out in the desert.
NEXT: The Diamondbacks Keep Making History Against The Padres