Walker hits 3-run homer, Diamondbacks stop Yankees’ win streak at 5 games with 7-0 victory

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This article was published 02/04/2024 (579 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Walker hit a three-run homer, Zac Gallen pitched six sharp innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees 7-0 on Tuesday night to end the Yankees’ season-opening win streak at five games.

Defending NL champion Arizona is off to a 4-2 start. The D-backs took a 3-0 lead in the first after five of their first six batters reached base against Nestor Cortes. Blaze Alexander, Eugenio Suárez and Gabriel Moreno all had RBI singles.

“You put up three quick points and start playing downhill baseball,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “Zac on the mound, it puts a lot of pressure on the opposition.”

Three runs turned out to be plenty of support for Gallen (2-0), who gave up three hits and three walks while striking out six. The right-hander finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting last season after going 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA.

He’s off to another good start, giving up just one run over 11 innings.

“It was a clean game,” Lovullo said. “Those are the types of game I expect us to play, but it was all set up by Zac. He was just pounding the zone, in command of more than one pitch and could get to anything at any time.”

Walker made it 6-0 in the seventh with a majestic blast off Jake Cousins, bringing home Ketel Marte and Alexander on a ball that traveled 424 feet, landing far beyond the wall in left.

“That was a good swing, for sure,” Walker said. “He’s got really good stuff. I had to just stay on fastball and luckily I got to one.”

It was only the fourth time in franchise history that New York started the year with five wins in five games. The Yankees’ streak masked an uneven offense but they couldn’t hide it on Tuesday. Aaron Judge was 0 for 3 with a walk, and his average fell to .125. Anthony Rizzo is hitting just .182, Giancarlo Stanton is at .150 and Alex Verdugo has a .143 average.

“Credit to them,” Rizzo said. “That’s a good team, a good pitcher. He just shut us down.”

Cortes (0-1) gave up three runs, eight hits and two walks over five innings.

For the D-backs, Walker, Alexander, Marte, Jake McCarthy and Geraldo Perdomo all had two hits.

Arizona held the Yankees scoreless for just the second time in franchise history. The other was in Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.

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The Yankees traded left-hander Nick Ramirez to the Dodgers for cash. Ramirez was designated for assignment Saturday. New York also agreed to a minor league contract with RHP Phil Bickford. … The D-backs traded infielder Emmanuel Rivera to the Marlins. He was designated for assignment on opening day.

UP NEXT

The Yankees and D-backs finish the three-game series on Wednesday. Arizona sends RHP Merrill Kelly (1-0, 1.35 ERA) to the mound while New York counters with LHP Carlos Rodón (0-0, 2.08 ERA).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb