Brandon Pfaadt’s return from Triple-A Reno has changed the look of the Diamondbacks’ rotation, and Saturday night in Los Angeles was the latest proof.
The right-hander worked 5 1/3 innings, allowed two runs, didn’t issue a walk and struck out two as Arizona rolled past the Dodgers 9-2 at Dodger Stadium. Pfaadt was in control early, retiring 15 of the first 17 hitters he saw, and he carried a shutout into the sixth inning against the majors’ second-highest scoring offense.
Since coming back to Arizona on June 30 with altered mechanics and a sharper mindset, Pfaadt has gone 3-0 with a 1.72 ERA over three starts. That’s a sharp turnaround from the stretch before his demotion, when he was 0-1 with a 5.92 ERA and had been moved to the bullpen.
Arizona’s offense made sure the lead never felt shaky. For the second straight night, the Diamondbacks hung nine runs on the board to support their starter.
James McCann powered the attack with two home runs, including a three-run blast off Yoshinobu Yamamoto that helped break the game open. Nolan Arenado also went deep, and Tim Tawa kept rolling with a 3-for-5 night that included two doubles and two RBIs.
The game stayed tight until the Diamondbacks blew it open with a five-run sixth against Yamamoto. Arizona was up 1-0 before Max Kepler added a sacrifice fly, Tawa delivered an RBI double and McCann followed with the three-run homer that pushed the margin to 6-0.
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