PHOENIX -- Zac Gallen didn't think he had anything left.
It was the seventh inning, the Diamondbacks were clinging to a one-run lead and the right-hander had just walked the Phillies’ Bryson Stott to put runners at first and second with two outs, with the dangerous Harrison Bader coming to the plate. Gallen had thrown 99 pitches at the point and, after battling an illness for much of the week, he was done.
Manager Torey Lovullo had a left-hander warming in the bullpen should Bader extend the inning and bring the lefty-swinging Kyle Schwarber to the plate.
Veteran catcher James McCann knew what Gallen was thinking and wanted to give him a minute to breathe, so he trotted out to the mound to talk with him.
"I'm gassed," Gallen told McCann.
"I know," McCann responded. "But you got this. This is your guy. We're going to go right after him and get you out of here."
It took four pitches, but Gallen did indeed take care of Bader, getting him to ground into an inning-ending forceout and the Diamondbacks went on to beat the Phillies, 4-3, at Chase Field.
"Just tried to dig deep and be able to make a pitch to Bader and get us out of the jam, and not have to have [Brandyn] Garcia come in and face Schwarber and [Bryce] Harper there with what would have been the bases loaded,” said Gallen. “Just tried to do my part.”
Gallen did more than his part in providing a huge victory for the Diamondbacks’ longshot postseason chances.
The win, combined with the Mets’ loss to the Nationals, moved Arizona to within two games of New York, which holds the final NL Wild Card berth, with seven games remaining on the schedule. The Diamondbacks also trail the Reds by one game in the Wild Card standings.
"We're still in this thing," Gallen said. "I don't think we're going to go away until they tell us we're out of it. Obviously we need a little bit of help, but the only thing we can control is how we play.”
The Phillies got to Gallen for a pair of first-inning runs, but he settled in and allowed just one additional run through seven innings.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks claimed their first lead of the game in the sixth, when McCann drove in a run with a double and scored on Ildemaro Vargas' bloop hit to center.
Since the Trade Deadline, Gallen is 6-2 with a 2.82 ERA while Arizona is 27-19 over that stretch.
"Just been working really hard on the delivery stuff, and it feels like it's kind of turning somewhat of a corner," Gallen said.
Up until the Trade Deadline, Gallen's numbers were surprisingly bad as he struggled to find consistency with his delivery. That showed in a 5.60 ERA in his first 22 starts. It was those struggles, in large part, that kept teams from making what Arizona GM Mike Hazen deemed a suitable offer for him at the Deadline.
So while the Diamondbacks parted with right-hander Merrill Kelly, first baseman Josh Naylor, third baseman Eugenio Suárez, outfielder Randal Grichuk and reliever Shelby Miller, Gallen stayed put.
Gallen, who makes his home in the Valley and will be a free agent at the end of the season for the first time, was glad to stay. He's even happier now that the Diamondbacks, in large part because of the Mets’ second-half struggles, have found themselves in the postseason chase.
"Obviously, it'd be better to be two games up, but you got a chance," McCann said. "As long as you got a chance, that's all you can ask for. And like I've been talking to the guys about, we have to take care of our business. We can't rely on another team. Obviously, it's going to take a little bit [of help] from another team, but if we don't take care of our business, it doesn't matter."