Diamondbacks Brandon Pfaadt Struggles in Slugfest with Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks dropped their Wednesday afternoon Cactus League contest at Salt River Fields against he San Francisco Giants by a score of 11 to 5.

Rotation candidate Brandon Pfaadt did not have the kind of day he wanted. He was scheduled to throw three innings, but only made it through two, throwing 46 pitches, including 21 in the first inning and 25 in the second.

Three hard hit singles well over 100 MPH on pitches that caught too much of the zone resulted in a run in the first inning. Pfaadt retired just one more batter in the second inning while giving up three hits and a walk. Taylor Rashi relieved and gave up a sacrifice, allowing an inherited runner to score.

Pfaadt's final line of 1.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts was not what he had in mind when he took the mound for his second start of spring. "I didn't feel the best compared to the first [outing] but we hit our pitch count target," he said.

Pfaadt felt like he got himself into too many deep counts, and threw too many pitches, thus ending up short of the targeted third up-down.

"We just weren't in the zone, and weren't aggressive," Pfaadt said. "I think that was the major key. The other day we were aggressive, we were throwing everything. Today we weren't aggressive in the zone, I think we threw a lot of pitches because of that. That's ok, that's what spring training is for and just getting back in the groove."

While expressing some frustration, he was able to keep perspective. "That's not how I pitch, that's ok, I'd rather do that now than later on."

The elephant in the room, however, is the fifth starter competition that Pfaadt finds himself in. Despite having led the team with over 180 innings pitched last season, and having stretches of dominance, there are seven pitchers for five slots.

The presumption is that Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Eduardo Rodriguez will occupy the first four spots. That means Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, and Jordan Montgomery are vying for the fifth spot. The D-backs have made it clear they won't go with a six man rotation. So every outing is part of the evaluation process.

Knowing the overall situation, Pfaadt was asked if it's a little tougher to treat it as just a spring start. "Yes and no, we're going out there and trying to compete regardless of the situation, so yes and no."

When it comes to the competition, versus just trying to get pitches in and get built up in spring, manager Torey Lovullo didn't didn't mince his words. "Everything counts, and we have to evaluate everything we see. It is a balancing act, but I don't want [any player] to be comfortable. I want them to play on edge, and I think that spirit of competition brings out the best in everybody."

The offense jumped out in the bottom of the first inning, scoring five runs. The decisive blow in the inning was a 456-foot, three-run homer off the bat of Gabriel Moreno. Ketel Marte singled and later scored on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. base hit.

Gabriel Moreno hits a 456-foot monster shot off Kyle Harrison.

D-backs threatening to bat around in the first inning, up 5-1. pic.twitter.com/uX2aufTEDR
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 5, 2025

Jake McCarthy hit a one-hop double to the wall, later scoring on a Josh Naylor sacrifice fly. McCarthy also had two more hard-struck singles, continuing to build on his spring.

That was it for the starting position players posting runs on the board, however, despite registering hits in three of the next four innings.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Removed from Game

Gurriel was experiencing some left hamstring tightness prior to the game. He was removed from the game starting in the top of the fourth inning after hitting into a double play in his second at-bat. Lovullo said that it was just to "be smart" and get him out of the game after two at-bats.

Relief Pitching

Kyle Nelson gave up a two-run homer to Casey Schmitt in the third and John Curtiss allowed a solo homer to Willy Adames in the fourth. Scott McGough gave up a run as well on a walk and a hit and now has a 14.73 spring ERA. The non-roster invitee is on a minor league deal and likely has pitched his way out of a shot at making the opening day roster.

Several other non-roster invitee relievers got into the game. Brandon Bielak threw a scoreless inning, striking out one. Casey Kelly gave up a run on two base hits. Minor-leaguer Kyle Backhus threw a scoreless frame.

Things got sloppy in the ninth as the Giants tacked on three more runs against Sam Knowlton, who gave up a hit and two walks. Tim Tawa made a throwing error.

Tommy Troy

A bright spot in the bottom of the ninth was a double off the left wall by one of the team's top prospects, Tommy Troy. The D-backs' number 8 prospect came into the game in the ninth inning and roped a double off the wall in left center. Lovullo enjoyed seeing Troy.

"He's one of our finer prospects and he's developing. When he comes and I watch some of those tools and some of those insights that he's collecting and building his own resume, based on what he's being taught on the back fields. It's a good moment for everybody."

Split Squad Night Games on Thursday

The D-backs will play two split squad games Thursday night. One team of players led by bench coach Jeff Banister will head out to Goodyear to face the Cleveland Guardians. That game time is 6:05 p.m. Lovullo will lead a team of players at Salt River Fields against the Seattle Mariners, with first pitch at 6:40 p.m.