Diamondbacks Pitching Shines in Win over Athletics

The Arizona Diamondbacks received a high-quality effort from their pitching staff on Wednesday, earning a 3-1 victory over the Athletics at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt made his first start of spring training after an offseason "side issue" made the D-backs decide to slow-play him heading into camp. Pfaadt was asymptomatic on day one of spring, but had been relegated to the back fields prior to Wednesday's start.

Pfaadt threw 2.1 innings and did not allow a run. He gave up one hit — a single — and one walk. He did, however, surrender four batted balls north of 100 MPH, though they all went for outs.

Pfaadt said his outing was lengthier than initially expected, though he still only threw 25 pitches (15 for strikes) as a result of a four-pitch first inning.

"Feel good, feel great. There was a little hiccup this offseason with some side tightness. Nothing to worry about, but that probably pushed us back maybe four days, so nothing too crazy. But it was good that [I] felt great today, and we were able to go more than we were supposed to," Pfaadt said after his outing (via AZ Sports' Alex Weiner on X/Twitter).

Diamondbacks Pitching Excels vs Athletics

Sep 16, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandyn Garcia against the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Pfaadt did manage to collect a pair of whiffs — one on a changeup and another on his slider (sweeper). The right-hander has made some tweaks to that offering with the hopes of turning it back into a weapon. He used the offering to punch out Athletics DH Brent Rooker Wednesday.

He did run into trouble in the third inning, but right-hander Gerardo Carrillo cleaned up the two-on, one-out jam with a ground ball double play.

Righty and former closer Paul Sewald gave up the only run of the day from the D-backs' pitching staff. Sewald threw 24 pitches, giving up two singles and a sacrifice fly. His fastball velocity fluctuated a bit, but did manage to get above 92 MPH on multiple occasions.

From there, Arizona's pitching was mostly sharp. Left-hander Brandyn Garcia rebounded spectacularly after his last performance saw him leave after an ugly showing with an illness.

Garcia's sinker velocity sat near 96 MPH, he threw nine of 10 pitches for strikes, and got four whiffs on the way to a pair of strikeouts.

Left-hander Philip Abner and righty Kade Strowd both worked out of some traffic, each picking up a strikeout. Jonathan Loaisiga gave up a walk and single with two outs in the eighth, but stranded the runners. Righty Isaiah Campbell put a bow on the one-run performance with a 1-2-3 save in the ninth.

Diamondbacks' Offense Lackluster vs Athletics

The D-backs picked up 10 hits off the Athletics, but stranded 10, going just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Second baseman Tommy Troy had an excellent day, going 3-for-4 at the plate, but it was shortstop Jacob Amaya who produced all three of Arizona's runs. Amaya crushed a two-run homer to take the lead in the fourth, then added to it with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.