NEW YORK (AP) — Arizona ace Zac Gallen was hit hard in a damaging loss for the Diamondbacks as Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos powered the New York Mets to a 7-1 victory Wednesday night.
Just back from the minors, Joey Lucchesi (3-0) carried a shutout into the eighth inning and the fourth-place Mets improved to 5-1 against Arizona this season by battering the Diamondbacks for the second consecutive night.
Arizona dropped into a tie for the third National League wild card with Cincinnati, which won 4-3 at Detroit. San Francisco and Miami are close behind in a crowded race for the final NL playoff spot.
Alonso had an RBI single in the first and a two-run double in the fifth off Gallen (15-8), who was coming off the first nine-inning shutout of his career. The right-hander held the Chicago Cubs to three hits in a 1-0 victory last Friday with the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field.
This time, with Arizona in need of another quality outing, he was tagged for seven runs — six earned — and eight hits over five-plus innings in a disappointing performance that hurt his Cy Young Award chances.
Gallen started the All-Star Game for the National League in July and entered with a 3.31 ERA in 187 2/3 innings this year.
Vientos added a two-run homer off Gallen in the sixth. Francisco Lindor reached base three times and scored twice for the Mets, who have won 18 of their last 22 games against Arizona.
Jeff McNeil scored from first with a nifty headfirst dive on Rafael Ortega’s fourth-inning double.
Lucchesi was charged with an unearned run and five hits over seven-plus innings in his return from Triple-A Syracuse. He walked three and struck out two.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Rookie OF Corbin Carroll was rested against a left-hander after going 0 for 10 in the first two games of the series. … 3B Emmanuel Rivera (left shoulder) returned to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday night.
Mets: 3B Brett Baty exited after six innings with left groin soreness and will undergo imaging. … Touted rookie Ronny Mauricio was sick with a temperature and didn’t play, one night after hitting a 440-foot shot for his first major league home run. New York manager Buck Showalter said he still plans to take a look at Mauricio at other positions besides second base before the season ends. … DJ Stewart was shaken up in the fifth after getting drilled near the right elbow by Gallen’s 94 mph fastball, but stayed in the game. … RF Starling Marte (right groin strain) took batting practice on the field and might play in simulated games at the club’s complex in Florida soon. Injured closer Edwin Díaz (right knee surgery) could face hitters there, too. It’s uncertain if either one will return this season. … Brandon Nimmo played left field instead of center to give his “heavy” legs a bit of a break, Showalter said. … To open a roster spot for Lucchesi, the Mets optioned struggling reliever Sam Coonrod to Triple-A Syracuse.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (11-6, 3.16 ERA) faces rookie RHP Kodai Senga (10-7, 3.07) in the finale of the four-game series Thursday, with an unusual weekday start time of 4:10 p.m. Senga struck out 12 over eight innings in a 2-1 win at Arizona on July 5.
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