Brandon Pfaadt leaves fans awestruck with dominance in early stages of NLCS Game 3: "LET HIM COOK"
This time last year, starter Brandon Pfaadt had never thrown an MLB inning. Now, he is holding his own in one of the most important games in Arizona Diamondbacks franchise history.
After taking consecutive beatings in the first two games of the NLCS, the Diamondbacks returned home with a 2-0 NLCS deficit. Against the hard-swinging Philadelphia Phillies, all eyes turned to the 25-year-old Pfaadt to try and get his team back in the series.
"Brandon Pfaadt is cooking with absolute GAS right now." - Arizona Diamondbacks
In the first inning, Brandon Pfaadt got Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber to strike out looking. After Trea Turner singled, he got Bryce Harper to ground into a double play, making it out of the first inning unscathed.
In the second, Pfaadt struck out both JT Realmuto and Bryson Stott, adding Nick Castellanos, Johan Rojas, and a second Schwarber strikeout to his K-count in the third. Now, in the fifth inning, the Philadelphia Phillies are still scoreless, thanks in large part to Pfaat.
A native of Kentucky, the 6-foot-4 right-hander was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. However, it was not until the 2023 season that the young ace finally got the tap into the big leagues.
For Pfaadt, his regular season performance was far from remarkable. Finishing with a record of 3-9, Pfaadt surrendered 61 earned runs across 96 innings spread across 19 appearances. This gave the youngster an ERA of 5.72 on the season. Despite the poor performance in the regular season, he seems to have turned it on for the playoffs.
Despite a relatively poor showing for his team against the Brewers in the NL Wild Card Series, Brandon Pfaadt stepped up when it mattered most. On October 11, Pfaadt went 4.1 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, keeping one of the NL's best teams scoreless and striking a pair as his team bested the Dodgers 4-2 to advance.
Brandon Pfaadt has the future of the D-Backs 2023 season in the palm of his hand
By going with Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is offering a strong endorsement of an unproven part of his team's rotation. As such, the stakes could not be higher.
Now, with eight strikeouts in five innings and only a pair of hits allowed, Pfaadt is indeed rolling. It remains to be seen whether or not the magic will hold up.