PHOENIX — Hold on to your hats, D-backs fans: Zac Gallen is back.
After missing nearly a month because of an injury, Gallen is back and starting against the Oakland Athletics at Chase Field this afternoon.
The team announced Gallen was officially activated Saturday morning, a few hours before the first pitch. Gallen is expected to be matched up on the mound with A's pitcher Hogan Harris.
Relief pitchers at the ready for the Diamondbacks include Joe Mantiply and Brandon Hughes.
Gallen was originally placed on IL back in May with a strained right hamstring. He was removed six pitches into the May 31 game at Citi Field. He went back to Arizona that Friday to undergo an MRI and get evaluated by team doctors.
The 28-year-old right-hander is 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 11 starts. He finished in the top five of NL Cy Young Award voting each of the past two years, including third last season when he went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA in 210 innings and made his first All-Star team.
“It hurts, there’s no doubt about it," manager Torey Lovullo said when he pulled Gallen. “I hated having to pull him off the field. I think everybody felt the same way. But nobody can feel sorry for themselves.”
The D-backs take on the A's at 1:10 p.m. at Chase Field. The first 20,000 fans into the park today can get a Ketel Marte bobblehead.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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