11:00pm: Gallen will start tomorrow’s game with Soroka pitching in bulk relief, manager Torey Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Gallen has started all 195 of his appearances in the majors, so the D-Backs preferred to have Soroka working in relief.

8:18pm: The Diamondbacks are likely to reinstate Zac Gallen from the 60-day injured list for tomorrow’s series finale in Kansas City, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Gallen will split the bulk work with Michael Soroka, who is expected to come off the 15-day IL. Arizona already has an opening on the 40-man roster for Gallen, so they’ll only need to option two pitchers as corresponding moves.

Gallen has missed the entire second half with elbow inflammation. He made one official minor league rehab start on August 30, tossing 1 2/3 innings in a Triple-A game. Gallen threw a 60-pitch simulated game last Friday and will now return to MLB action (via the MLB.com injury tracker). Soroka, who has been out for a couple weeks with shoulder inflammation, tossed 59 pitches in a simulated game that same day. The D-Backs can expect around 3-4 innings from both righties tomorrow in what’ll essentially be a tandem start.

This has been a difficult season for Gallen, who has an ugly 6.34 ERA across 19 starts. His 13.9% strikeout rate is down seven points from last year’s 21.5% mark — which was itself a career low. Gallen has also allowed a few too many home runs for a second straight season. Although he’s still willing to attack the strike zone, the stuff clearly hasn’t fooled enough hitters.

Soroka has had a much better season, turning in a 3.40 ERA through 18 outings. He pitched well enough early in the year to hold a rotation spot despite initially being penciled for swing work. Soroka’s workload has again been checked by multiple injuries, however, as he missed all of July with a glute strain before last month’s shoulder issue. Soroka didn’t look as sharp in his three appearances between the IL stints as he had in an excellent first half.

Arizona’s pitching depth has been enough of a concern that they’ll happily welcome Gallen and Soroka back for the stretch run. Corbin Burnes went three scoreless innings tonight in his first MLB appearance in 15 months. The Snakes have won three straight games to maintain a half-game edge on the Padres for the final playoff spot in the National League. Gallen and Soroka are impending free agents, so they’ll also have a couple weeks to try to improve their stocks before they hit the open market.