Zac Gallen’s Struggles Highlight Diamondbacks’ Pitching Woes

In a season marked by ups and downs, Zac Gallen’s recent loss added to a troubling trend for the Diamondbacks, as it marked his seventh defeat of the year. This setback dropped Arizona to 6-11 in games he has started, prompting reflections on the franchise’s history of pitching struggles. Who stands out as the biggest loser among the team’s starting pitchers?

To grasp the depths of this narrative, we must travel back in time. The single-season record for losses is rarely mentioned in discussions of unbreakable records, yet it deserves attention. In 1883, John Coleman of the Philadelphia Statistics suffered an astounding 48 losses. Though he pitched in 61 of the team’s 99 games that season and completed 59, the Statistics finished with a dismal 17-81 record, a testament to their offensive woes.

Turning to the Diamondbacks, the franchise has seen its share of pitchers with unfortunate records. Both Rodrigo Lopez and Brandon Webb recorded 16 losses in 2010 and 2004, respectively. Webb’s performance stands out; despite his high ERA+ of 125, the team struggled to support him, leading to a disappointing season. That year, Casey Fossum added 15 losses to his tally, while Randy Johnson, a future Hall of Famer, managed to lose 14 games despite finishing second in Cy Young voting.

Webb’s tenure saw the D-backs lose 23 games he started, a record for the franchise, reflecting a team win percentage of just .343 when he took the mound. Lopez fared slightly worse, with Arizona losing 22 of his 33 starts, leading to a win percentage of .333. Yet the record holder for the most losses remains Fossum, whose 2004 season was particularly bleak. In 27 starts, he secured only six victories, resulting in a win percentage of .222.

As Gallen continues his season, the pressure mounts. If he makes another 17 starts and finishes with a 1-16 record, he could find himself with a lower team win percentage than Fossum’s infamous mark. Interestingly, Gallen’s struggles are not entirely unprecedented; in 2021, he started 23 games, and the D-backs managed to win just six, yielding a win percentage of .260. The shadows of past pitching woes loom large as the team seeks to turn its fortunes around.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.