Brandon Pfaadt continues to look unhittable, Diamondbacks shut out Braves

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt was tasked with dueling Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale on Friday with no room for error against a top-six scoring offense in MLB, and he did so by extending his scoreless innings streak in a 2-0 win.

Pfaadt threw seven shutout innings and has not allowed an earned run in each of his last four starts. He owns a 1.15 ERA in nine outings since he returned to the starting rotation at the end of June.

The last earned run scored off Pfaadt came on July 23, when the St. Louis Cardinals plated two runs in the first inning. He has pitched 32.2 innings without allowing an earned run since then.

Pfaadt owns the third-longest consecutive innings streak without an earned run in D-backs history, trailing Zac Gallen (44.1) and Brandon Webb (42).

Tim Tawa hit a home run in the ninth inning for insurance, the first run scored since the top of the first inning, and Brandyn Garcia picked up his third save. Garcia struck out Braves stars Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson to end the game.

Arizona (65-58) snapped a two-game skid with its seventh shutout victory of the season.

Brandon Pfaadt, what a performance

Pfaadt’s control has been spectacular since his return to the rotation, and Friday was another showcase of that. He drew 13 whiffs, struck out a season-high seven hitters, did not walk a batter and never threw more than 15 pitches in an inning.

The right-hander allowed two hits, while his defense made several slick plays, including a tumbling grab by Ryan Waldschmidt in left field.

71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water and the other 29% is covered by Ryan Waldschmidt. pic.twitter.com/U06f3KLHkD

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 15, 2026

Like his previous start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pfaadt threw more changeups than he usually does, and it worked. He used it to finish off two of his strikeouts and drew an 80.5 mph exit velocity with that pitch. The curveball missed five bats.

Arizona opted to move to the bullpen for the eighth inning, even with Pfaadt at 87 pitches. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters postgame that Pfaadt had been showing signs of fatigue.

Juan Morillo and Garcia backed up the decision. Arizona pitchers allowed three baserunners all game with no walks.

Brandon Pfaadt, Nasty 87mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/11gGN525hr

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 15, 2026

Once again, the D-backs gave Pfaadt very little run support.

Sale, a National League Cy Young contender with a 2.16 ERA, delivered six innings with one earned run, and his defense could have prevented it.

Geraldo Perdomo started the game with a single on the ninth pitch he saw, and Corbin Carroll followed with a line drive to left field misjudged by outfielder Mauricio Dubon. What could have been the first out turned into a double, and Gabriel Moreno hit a tapper to score Perdomo.

From there, the Diamondbacks’ offense continued its frustrations with runners in scoring position from Wednesday’s loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Arizona started the game 0-for-10 with RISP. It got worse, as the D-backs loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning after Jorge Barrosa was hit by a pitch, and they failed to score again.

Arizona finished 0-for-14 with RISP, leaving 10 runners on base after it stranded 15 runners on Wednesday. It was a particularly brutal day at the plate for Nolan Arenado, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, along with a pop-up with the bases load.

Perdomo was the standout offensively, going 4-for-5 with a double and a bunt single.

Saturday starters

LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (11-4, 2.70) vs. RHP Grant Holmes (7-4, 3.47)

First pitch is at 4:15 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. The TV broadcast will be on FOX. 

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