Like his starting compatriot Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen may have tossed his final game with Arizona across his chest at PNC Park in Pittsburgh with the MLB trade deadline looming on Thursday. And like Kelly experienced, the Diamondbacks’ offense was shut down on Sunday in a 6-0 loss to seal a series loss to the Pirates.

After an efficient opening frame that produced two lineouts and a ground out, Gallen was bitten by a lead-off walk to Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz in the second and didn’t snuff out a lead-off single by second baseman Nick Gonzales in the third. A Bryan Reynolds double and subsequent Cruz single put Gallen and the Diamondbacks (51-55) in a 3-0 hole.

Through four innings, Gallen was well ahead in the pitch count battle (51) with Paul Skenes (77) but the latter was getting much more swing-and-miss with seven of his nine strikeouts via Arizona whiffs. Gallen had four to his name.

Gallen’s final line was six innings pitched, five hits, four runs (all earned), a walk and five strikeouts on 85 pitches. He retired seven straight Pirates batters between the third and sixth inning, but wasn’t ultimately sharp when it mattered most.

In two outings against the Pirates (44-62) this season, Gallen allowed 10 earned runs and 11 hits.

The loss was Gallen’s 12th of the year and the 13th time in 22 starts conceding at least four earned runs. His ERA climbed up to 5.60, which is on pace for his career-worst season by greater than a point (4.30 in 2021).

Arizona, once again in Pittsburgh, was unable to convert, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. It only produced one run across 29 innings in the road series, the one a ghost runner scored via sacrifice fly in Saturday’s 11th inning.

Stars Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte were 3-for-22 at the plate in Pittsburgh while third baseman Eugenio Suarez has officially cooled off following a home run binge, going 1-for-18 in his last five games.

In nine games since the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks have been held under five runs in all but one contest — a 10-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on July 19.

Bright spots and firsts

Diamondbacks first baseman Tristin English made his first big league hit a memorable one, a double to right field off of the flamethrowing Skenes in the third inning. He made his MLB debut on July 9 against the San Diego Padres and recorded his first career knock in his fourth game.

Following a shutout and zero extra-base hits on Saturday, Arizona left fielder Jake McCarthy supplied two of his own (a triple and a double). It was McCarthy’s second triple of the season.

Only a week after making his own MLB debut for the Seattle Mariners, newly acquired left-handed reliever Brandyn Garcia made his first Diamondbacks impression in the seventh. After losing catcher Henry Davis for a walk, Garcia induced a 6-4-3 double play and ground out to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to end a 12-pitch audition.

Diamondbacks’ next game

The D-backs continue their nine-game road trip at the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers (61-46) on Monday.

Southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez (5.50 ERA) will start for Arizona and face Detroit right-hander Casey Mize (3.40 ERA). It will be the final series before the MLB trade deadline at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

First pitch of Diamondbacks-Tigers is at 3:40 p.m. Listen to live action on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.Â