PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Walker hit a pair of homers, Zac Gallen threw five dominant innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Texas Rangers 6-0 on Tuesday night.
The D-backs are two games ahead of the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild card. The Rangers’ playoff chances, which were already very slim, continued to drop.
Joc Pederson and Walker hit back-to-back solo homers in the first to give the D-backs a 2-0 lead. Walker went deep again in third — going opposite field for the second straight time — to put Arizona up 4-0.
It was Walker’s 24th and 25th homers of the season and his first two since returning from an oblique injury on Sept. 3.
Gallen (12-6) gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out seven for his second straight dominant start. The right-hander threw six hitless and scoreless innings in a win over the Giants on Sept. 4.
Pavin Smith, who hit a career-high three homers in a win over the Astros on Sunday, had an RBI double that made it 5-0 in the ninth. Jose Herrera’s RBI double pushed it to 6-0.
The Rangers were back at Chase Field for the first time since beating the D-backs in Game 5 of the World Series on Nov. 1, which clinched the first Fall Classic in franchise history.
Nathan Eovaldi (11-8) — who threw six scoreless innings in that clinching Game 5 — was back on the mound Tuesday. He gave up four runs and seven hits over five innings, walking one and striking out six.
Wyatt Langford had two hits and two stolen bases for the Rangers. Josh Smith had the only other hit.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Jacob deGrom and RHP Max Scherzer are expected to return to the starting rotation later this week. Manager Bruce Bochy said deGrom (Tommy John elbow surgery) will pitch Friday and Scherzer (shoulder) will be Saturday. DeGrom hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since April 28, 2023.
Diamondbacks: C Gabriel Moreno (groin) and OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (calf) continue to progress. Manager Torey Lovullo hopes both can return before the regular season ends.
UP NEXT
The D-backs send RHP Merrill Kelly (4-0, 4.08 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday, while the Rangers counter with LHP Cody Bradford (5-2, 3.05 ERA) in the finale of the two-game series.
