Zac Gallen allowed four hits and two runs – one earned – with two walks and one strikeout over 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Royals on Wednesday.

Gallen pitched fine here given the circumstances, he just wasn’t particularly on point. He heavily leaned into his slider given that it was the only pitch he could confidently command in the zone which helped him stay away from his fastball. That pitch has gotten crushed all season and came in two ticks slower than its average velocity, so it made sense that he shied away from it. The only earned run he let up came via a long home run to Carter Jensen on a slider that hung, which is the game a pitcher plays when they’re so in-zone-slider dependent. Similar to Corbin Burnes yesterday, Gallen returned after throwing one short rehab outing at Triple-A followed by about a 50 pitches appearance in a Bridge League game last week. He’s lined up for what’s likely to be another abbreviated outing at home against the Marlins next week.