Brandon Pfaadt Just Gave the Diamondbacks Exactly What They Needed

Another strong start for Pfaadt.

Jun 3, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With a depleted bullpen, and a game that was not initially scheduled for Thursday afternoon, the Arizona Diamondbacks needed a lengthy, effective outing from right-hander Brandon Pfaadt against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

And for the fifth straight outing after returning from the minor leagues, Pfaadt turned in an excellent start, exiting in line for the win after having given his team more than a fair shot.

Diamondbacks got just what they needed from Brandon Pfaadt

Jul 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) throws during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In each of the four previous starts for Pfaadt, he was not able to complete six innings. Though he did not give up more than two runs in any of those appearances, he tended to run into trouble as the game went on, forcing the Diamondbacks to go to the bullpen to finish the sixth.

With this Thursday game taking away what was initially a scheduled off day, Arizona needed more than five innings out of Pfaadt. The D-backs have had to heavily lean on their bullpen coming out of the break.

No Arizona starter has gone deeper than 5.1 innings since the start of the second half. Twice did an arm fail to get through five, and twice have the D-backs gone to extra innings.

They needed six frames out of Pfaadt, and they got it. Pfaadt allowed two earned runs, and settled down from what looked to be a potentially disastrous first inning to settle in for five more scoreless frames. He stranded seven baserunners in the process.

Jul 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pfaadt mixed in his entire arsenal in a balanced manner. He got only seven whiffs, but landed 14 pitches for called strikes and pitched to contact once again. He did allow more than a few batted balls north of 95 MPH (10, to be exact), but three of those came in his two-run first, and four went for outs.

For the fifth straight start, Pfaadt continued to gradually deflate his ERA. That number sat at an ugly 5.92 prior to his Triple-A stint. Since coming back, he's lowered it all the way down to 4.43, which ranks third among healthy D-backs starters. He has a 2.33 ERA over the course of this impressive five-start stretch.

And, leaving out his brief and unsuccessful stint as a reliever, the right-hander has a 3.82 ERA in his seven starts this year.

A minor tweak to his delivery and a few strong showings in Reno appear to have propelled Pfaadt on a wildly positive trajectory, and the Diamondbacks need that more than ever moving forward.

As it stands, Arizona is still awaiting the return of Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson, and Zac Gallen's timeline is unclear. There are few options remaining at the minor league level should the D-bakcs need to dip back in to the rotation well.