SCOTTSDALE — The Arizona Diamondbacks picked returning ace Zac Gallen over newcomer Corbin Burnes to start on Opening Day next week at Chase Field, manager Torey Lovullo announced on Thursday.
The D-backs will host the Chicago Cubs on March 27, and Gallen will make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the club.
Lovullo “agonized” over the decision between Gallen and Burnes throughout spring training, taking Tuesday’s off day to dive deeper into the arguments.
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He canvassed 32 staff members, 16 of whom picked Gallen and 16 chose Burnes.
“They’re both elite pitchers,” Lovullo said. “They’re both unbelievable teammates, and in both cases, I think they would have been accepting of winning the spot or not winning the spot.
“At the end of the day, Zac’s been here for a long time. I have a very strong bond with Zac. He’s seen some darkness here. He’s come out the other end. And I’ve relied on him in a different way that I will eventually rely on Corbin. I just haven’t gotten there yet.”
The Diamondbacks were one of the last teams to have announced their pick for what is ultimately a ceremonial honor as the club reintroduces itself to the fanbase.
Gallen joins Randy Johnson (1999-2004), Brandon Webb (2006-09), Ian Kennedy (2011-13) and Madison Bumgarner (2020-22) as Diamondbacks pitchers to start three straight Opening Day games.
Last year, Gallen threw five innings with one earned run in a 16-1 shellacking of the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field.
Gallen is one of the longest-tenured Diamondbacks, having joined the team via trade during the 2019 season. He’s been with the club through a 110-loss season and its trip to the World Series while ascending as a top-end starter. Now, he enters the final year under contract.
An All-Star and Cy Young finalist in 2023, Gallen had a solid but inconsistent season last year with a 3.65 ERA in 148 innings.
Burnes signed a six-year, $210 million deal with Arizona over the offseason in a shocking move not only nationally but in the building.
A four-time All-Star, Burnes has a Cy Young award on his shelf and has started on Opening Day in each of the past three seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles. Last year, Burnes introduced himself to Baltimore with six innings of one-run ball and 11 strikeouts to start the season against the Los Angeles Angels.
Burnes has lived up to the billing this spring with a 1.35 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 13.1 innings across five starts.
Lovullo did not announce the rest of the rotation, as the fifth starter has yet to be named.
“Sooner than later so we can give everybody their days and understand what they got to do to get ready for their start,” Lovullo said. “But we are still evaluating. We haven’t named certain starters. And there’s still guys that are competing here.”
Diamondbacks Opening Day starters
1998 – Andy Benes
1999 – Randy Johnson
2000 – Randy Johnson
2001 – Randy Johnson
2002 – Randy Johnson
2003 – Randy Johnson
2004 – Randy Johnson
2005 – Javier Vazquez
2006 – Brandon Webb
2007 – Brandon Webb
2008 – Brandon Webb
2009 – Brandon Webb
2010 – Dan Haren
2011 – Ian Kennedy
2012 – Ian Kennedy
2013 – Ian Kennedy
2014 – Wade Miley
2015 – Josh Collmenter
2016 – Zack Greinke
2017 – Zack Greinke
2018 – Patrick Corbin
2019 – Zack Greinke
2020 – Madison Bumgarner
2021 – Madison Bumgarner
2022 – Madison Bumgarner
2023 – Zac Gallen
2024 – Zac Gallen
2025 – Zac Gallen
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/61hoaqQ
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