Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen pitched six scoreless innings, Corbin Carroll doubled and scored, and the Diamondbacks beat the Texas Rangers 2-0 in Phoenix on Wednesday.
Gallen (11-13) stretched his scoreless streak to 12 innings and has given up only one run in his last 18 innings over three starts. His ERA dropped to 4.77, the lowest it has been since early May.
Carroll has 73 extra-base hits, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the most in the majors. Ohtani and Judge played later Wednesday.
Gabriel Moreno had an RBI single in the first and the Diamondbacks scored on an infield error in the second in a game defined by pitching. The D-backs had three hits, none after the second inning.
Gallen struck out five and walked one, and he gave up only one hit after Ezequiel Duran’s two-out double in the second inning. The Rangers, who had five hits, had as many as two runners on base in only the first and fifth innings.
Texas starter Jack Leiter (9-8) gave up two runs on three hits in six innings, with eight strikeouts and three walks. He retired 13 of the last 14 he faced after Arizona scored in the second. He has a 2.87 ERA in his last 12 starts.
Arizona (70-71) has won six of eight and is 4-0-1 in its last five series. The D-Backs entered six games behind the New York Mets for the third NL wild card berth.
The Rangers (72-69) dropped two games behind Seattle for the final AL wild card berth pending games later Wednesday.
Jake Woodford pitched around a one-out walk in the ninth for his third save in six chances.
The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the first, after Ketel Marte walked with one out. Marte was thrown out at home trying to advance on Carroll’s double before Moreno singled in Carroll.
Alek Thomas walked and Tyler Locklear singled with one out in the second, and Thomas scored from third for a 2-0 lead when first baseman Jake Burger mishandled Jake McCarthy’s grounder for an error. Burger’s error was Texas’ first in 20 games.
