LOS ANGELES --
Pfaadt pitched 5 1/3 innings with two runs allowed, no walks and two strikeouts to lead the Diamondbacks to a 9-2 win over the Dodgers on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. He retired 15 of the first 17 batters he faced and took a shutout into the sixth inning against MLB’s second-highest scoring offense.\n\nHe threw 55 of 77 pitches for strikes and had just one three-ball count all night.\n\n“I've said it the last three outings, but trying to be as efficient as possible, pounding the zone and going out there and attacking guys and being the aggressor,” Pfaadt said. “I think just establishing the zone and then using the mix after that. I think that's the biggest thing, and that's something I \\[previously\\] got away from.”
In three starts since rejoining Arizona, Pfaadt is 3-0 with a 1.72 ERA. Before being sent to Triple-A, he was 0-1 with a 5.92 ERA and had been demoted to the bullpen.\n\n“There's just confidence with everything that he's doing,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “He's getting the ball. His timing's great. His delivery looks great, and he's executing. That to me is the difference between every player when they have success and when they have failure.”\n\nPfaadt set the tone immediately by going nine up, nine down with remarkable efficiency to start the game. He needed just 27 pitches to get through the first three innings and threw seven first-pitch strikes.\n\nPfaadt briefly ran into trouble in the fourth when Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages led off with back-to-back singles, but deftly maneuvered his way through the heart of the Dodgers order to escape. He induced a groundout from Freddie Freeman for a fielder’s choice, got Mookie Betts to pop up to second base and retired Max Muncy on a weak chopper to end the threat and keep the Dodgers scoreless.\n\n“Felt like we made great pitches on those two singles in the fourth, and kind of just stayed even-keeled and stayed where we were at mentally and how we were throwing,” Pfaadt said. “It all worked out, and we were able to get out of the jam.”
Pfaadt retired the side in order in the fifth before giving up a pair of runs in the sixth to end his night.
For the second straight game, the Diamondbacks put up a nine-spot to back a strong effort from their starting pitcher.
The only negative for the Diamondbacks was they lost their center fielder to injury for the second straight night.\n\n