SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Mar. 7) \u2014 Zac Gallen<\/strong><\/a> is not a pitcher who has to worry about making the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a>‘ roster for 2023. The only question with the right-hander is where he will appear in the rotation. So his first spring outing, which came Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics<\/a>, was about getting his feet under him, seeing a different uniform in the batter\u2019s box, and getting his timing right. The timing element was especially important, as Gallen \u2014 along with every other pitcher in the majors \u2014 must get used to working with the pitch clock. And in his lone strikeout \u2014 a called third strike for the first out of the game \u2014 exposed an issue with the pitch clock.<\/p>\n Gallen faced Athletics first baseman Ryan Noda<\/a><\/strong> with runners on first and second, and nobody out in the top of the first. The count reached 2\u20132. What happened next depends on who is speaking. Noda had called time, briefly stepped out of the box, and stepped back in. After about three seconds, Gallen fired a 94-mph fastball navel-high and over the heart of the plate. Noda, not expecting it, protested in vain to plate umpire Bruce Dreckman upon hearing \u201cstrike three!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c(Gallen) threw a quick pitch,\u201d Noda calmly recounted. \u201cIt happens. With all the new rules in the game, people are trying to figure out ways to get around them. I know Scherzer started it, but it happened again. And you know, it’s just baseball sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Noda referred to an incident from Friday\u2019s Grapefruit League contest between the New York Mets<\/a> and Washington Nationals<\/a>. With no outs and a runner on first in the top of the third, Mets right-hander Max Scherzer<\/a><\/strong> was ready to pitch. Nationals center fielder Victor Robles<\/a><\/strong>, who had called time and stepped out of the box, stepped back in. As soon as he looked up, Scherzer delivered. The plate umpire called time, declared it a quick pitch, and charged Scherzer with a balk. In Tuesday’s game, there was no balk. Noda said that Dreckman told him, \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get ahead with the new rules just like you guys are. If we missed it, we missed it, that\u2019s on me not being ready, also.\u201d<\/p>\n Gallen saw the play differently than Noda did. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize he called time,\u201d he explained. After Noda stepped out and got back in the box, Gallen said he wasn\u2019t changing the pitch, so he came set. \u201cI thought he looked at me for a good second and a half, two seconds. And I thought, \u2018Okay, he seems ready to go. Pitch.\u2019 Then he said something to Bruce about it, and Bruce said (between innings), \u2018You\u2019re not allowed to do that.\u2019\u201d Gallen, after wondering to reporters why his strikeout stood if he wasn’t allowed to do what he did, added that he didn\u2019t know how long the pitcher has to wait before pitching. He called it a “grey area” before concluding, \u201cThat\u2019s gonna be interesting to see how that goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo<\/strong><\/a> didn’t think Gallen manipulated the situation. “If the umpire felt like he was,” Lovullo deduced, “he would have probably called timeout or told him that it was an illegal pitch. And it wouldn\u2019t have been a strike. I think Zack was ready to go. He came to a quick set. The hitter was alert and had his head up. And I think those are the rules.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there’s some gray area there. We’re still trying to figure that out. I think it gets a little dangerous when the pitcher\u2019s ready to fire the baseball, and the hitter is just picking his head up. And I think the hitter, based on the time that I saw \u2014 and I could be wrong \u2014 I felt like the hitter had a quick second to gather himself and be ready. I thought it was good strategy by Zac.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding to the confusion was that Dreckman never gave a signal putting the ball back in play after Noda had called time. Not every umpire does \u2014 it has been this way for decades \u2014 but recent events might force the league to require it moving forward.<\/p>\nWhat Ryan Noda Saw<\/h3>\n
What Zac Gallen and Torey Lovullo Saw<\/h3>\n
\u201cEngaged\u201d versus \u201cReady to Hit\u201d<\/h3>\n