Record: 10-12-1. Change on 2025: -2. 5-inning Record: 6-15-2.
The first tie of spring for Arizona, but this one will feel like a draw snatched from the jaws of victory. For it came on the heels of a stellar outing by Brandon Pfaadt, who was effective and economical. He pitched five innings without allowing a hit or a walk, striking out six. The only base-runner came on an Ildemaro Vargas error, so was hardly his fault. He has now pitched ten innings this spring, giving up one run on three hits and three walks, with eleven strikeouts. Today, he was pounding
the strikezone, throwing only eight balls to the sixteen batters faced. Also note: he didn’t allow a single fly-ball. Of course, required caveat: it’s only spring training.
After him, there were scoreless innings for closer candidates Jonathan Loáisiga and Paul Sewald, but Brandyn Garcia had another ugly outing. He was charged with three earned runs in the eighth, on two hits and two walks. Andrew Hoffmann was unable to complete the save in the ninth, though the officials and defense both played a part in that, I’d say. All of Arizona’s offense came in a four-run fourth, with Jorge Barrosa’s two-run triple (above) the key blow. Only five hits and a walk for the D-backs, coming from six different players. Corbin Carroll, DHing again, went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, and Alek Thomas, back from WBC duty, hit a double.
Tomorrow, the Cincinnatti Reds come to Salt River Fields, with Ryne Nelson the scheduled starter and a 1:10 pm first pitch. On to the WBC semi-final, starting in less than an hour!
