One more game. Then, mercifully, the All-Star break arrives. The Los Angeles Dodgers wrap up the unofficial first half of the season Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the pitching matchup is weirder than it looks on paper. We have a guy trying to find his footing, and another who has completely lost his map.
You might think that refers to LA’s Emmet Sheehan. It doesn’t. The real disaster artist lately is Zac Gallen. Once the undisputed ace of the desert, Gallen is currently cratering. He ranks dead last among 61 qualified Major League starters with a bloated 6.34 ERA and an even uglier 6.53 xERA. Remember April? He looked fine then, sporting a 3.14 ERA. Since May 1, however, the wheels haven’t just fallen off; they’ve exploded. Gallen has surrendered 59 earned runs over his last 69 1/3 innings. That is a 7.66 ERA over 13 starts. It is brutal to watch.
Sheehan has his own issues, sure. June was a rocky horror show for the young righty. Still, he is showing signs of life. He surrendered just a single run in each of his last two outings, racking up five strikeouts in both. The efficiency is still garbage, though. Last Sunday against San Diego, he burned through 96 pitches just to get through 4 1/3 innings. He needs to find the strike zone faster. Sunday is his chance to prove he can.
