By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Zac Gallen was dealing. Then he wasn’t.

The Giants lengthy climb back to .500 appeared stalled Monday evening as Gallen, Arizona’s 25-year old starter with the major league’s fourth lowest ERA, breezed through the first five innings allowing just one hit.

No stranger to the Giants, Gallen was making his third start against them since August 22, having allowed one run in each of the two previous outings, winning the first. His notoriety carried weight as well, having completed the first 23 starts of his career without allowing more than three runs in any of them, an ongoing major league record.

This time Gallen looked even more formidable–using cutters and curveballs to set up his 93 mph fastball–by breezing through five having thrown just 59 pitches, and leading 1-0.

In the sixth, things fell apart, with Gallen allowing four hits, two walks without recording an out. Just that fast, the Giants were on their way to a 4-2 win, and Gallen felt as if he saw it coming.

“Even those first five innings, it seemed like I was rolling but I feel like I kind of got away with some pitches that weren’t my best stuff,” he said. “In that sixth inning, I wasn’t making pitches.”

“He was making pitches early and then I think he just made some mistakes out over the plate and they took advantage of it,” manager Torey Lovullo said of Gallen.

The win brought the Giants back to .500 for the first time since August 2 when they were 5-5. With the regular season only 60 games, the quest took more than half the season to achieve. With 18 games remaining, the Giants are competing for one the final playoff spots in the National League. Can they hang?

Manager Gabe Kapler likes what he’s seen.

“The character of this team is continuing to shine through,” Kapler said. “Long way to go, lot of work left to do but certainly gratifying to get back to the .500 mark.”

Kevin Gausman picked up the win, pitching six innings, allowing just one run while striking out nine. Gausman’s name kept coming up at the trade deadline for all the right reasons as multiple clubs felt the right-hander could help them with their playoff aspirations. Throughout, Gausman stated he wanted to stay with the Giants. In the end, he got his wish.

“I was definitely happy to be back here” he said. “More than anything, I just feel confident in our team.”

The Giants next have a home-and-home set with the Mariners wrapped around a four-game set at Petco Park against the Padres. Then they return to the Bay Area for the final 10 games of the season, with the first three of those in Oakland.