MLB analyst impressed with Brandon Pfaadt's NLCS Game 7 dominance: "Better stuff than Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly"
One short year ago, pitcher Brandon Pfaadt had just finished his first season of Triple-A, and had yet to throw an MLB inning. Now, the rookie's heroics have cast his team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, into their biggest series in a generation.
The 25-year old Pfaadt got the nod to face the Phillies in Game 7 of the NLCS on Tuesday. His fourth career postseason start, it was certainly his biggest. To that point, Brandon Pfaadt had allowed just three earned runs allowed in his last dozen innings.
""There's probably going to be some tears." Game 7 starter Brandon Pfaadt caught up with @jonmorosi to share what going to the World Series means to him. #EmrbaceTheChaos" - Arizona Diamondbacks
After striking out both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber in the first, Pfaadt surrendered a solo home run to Alec Bohm in the second. After that, Brandon Pfaadt regrouped, striking out both Nick Castellanos and JT Realmuto to end the frame. In all, Pfaadt went 4.1 innings, striking out seven and allowing to runs as the D-Backs won 4-2.
Seeming to have come out of nowhere, Pfaadt was largely responsible for handing the Arizona Diamondbacks their first Game 7 win since 2001. In a post-game installment on MLB Network, analyst Greg Amsinger sang Pdaaft's praises in comparison to other, more well-known teammates.
"Better stuff than Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. They don't go to the World Series without this young man" - Greg Amsinger
Amsinger drew comparisons between Brandon Pfaadt and his teammates, Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen. Pfaadt's 2.70 ERA this postseason, compared to Gallen's 5.70 figure. Gallen, a 2023 NL All-Star, is making roughly 75 times more money than Pfaadt this season.
A native of Kentucky, Pfaadt was drafted by the D-Backs in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. In 18 appearances for the Snakes during the regular season, the 6-foot-4 right hander amassed a 3-9 record alongside an ERA of 5.72.
Brandon Pfaadt is the kind of October hero that his team needed
With the clutch Game 7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the D-Backs will see the Rangers next Friday for Game 1 of the World Series. In Game 3 of the NLCS, Pfaadt's 5.2 scoreless innings were crucial in setting up the conditions that led to Ketel Marte's walk-off RBI single. A playoff hero facing the expiration of his one-year, $720,000 deal, Pfaadt could be in line for a big extension if the postseason magic holds up.