Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen has had a historic start to the season when playing at home and will look to continue the excellence in the desert against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Cleveland Guardians vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (-175, 8.5)
Gallen has allowed just six total runs, five of which were earned, and one home run across his seven starts in Arizona this season. Across 47 innings pitched, he has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a home start this season.
Opposing Gallen is a Guardians lineup that ranks last in the league in home runs and 23rd in road on-base per inning. Overall, Cleveland ranks just 27th in runs per game with just under 3.8 this season.
The Guardians look to keep the Diamondbacks off the board with Touki Toussaint getting a surprise start for the injured Triston McKenzie
This is Toussaint first appearance at the MLB level after serving mostly as a long reliever at the AAA level this season, posting a 4.06 ERA with 11.5 strikeouts and 5.5 walks per nine innings.
While Toussaint will not lend as much length as he has when serving as regular starter in past seasons, he’s backed up by a bullpen that ranks second in the league in ERA but the Diamondbacks bullpen has recently improved, too, ranking 11th in ERA over the past 30 days.
The Diamondbacks are second in the National League in home batting average, entering Thursday hitting .270, but advanced numbers have shown that the Diamondbacks as the biggest over-performing offense of the season.
Overall, Arizona entered Thursday with a .264 batting average and .439 slugging percentage and while its expected numbers were a .247 batting average and .396 slugging percentage, those are the largest differentials of any team in the league in both categories.
Although the Guardians have struggled offensively, their overall strong pitching coupled with Gallen’s home dominance makes for a low-scoring night in the desert on Friday.
The Play: Guardians vs. Diamondbacks Under 8.5
