Pfaadt ties Arizona record with 7 straight strikeouts in Diamondbacks win over Brewers
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Pfaadt tied an Arizona franchise record by striking out seven straight batters to highlight his dominating performance as the Diamondbacks boosted their playoff hopes by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Thursday night.
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The Diamondbacks remain tied for second place in the NL wild-card standings with the New York Mets, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-6 on Thursday. They’re both two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves.
Milwaukee was playing one night after clinching its third NL Central title in four years.
Pfaadt (10-9) collected a career-high 12 strikeouts while allowing just one run and two hits in seven innings. It was a remarkable recovery for Pfaadt, who had given up eight runs over 1 2/3 innings in a 15-8 loss to the Brewers just five nights earlier.
“It was all predicated off the command of his fastball and the aggressiveness in which he set his fastball tone,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “That was an unbelievable turnaround and the main reason that we won this game, in my opinion.”
Pavin Smith hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the Diamondbacks.
Milwaukee’s run came on Garrett Mitchell’s two-out homer in the seventh. Pfaadt allowed only one other baserunner, when he gave up Brice Turang’s leadoff single in the fourth.
Turang moved to second when Jackson Chourio grounded out, then Pfaadt struck out Milwaukee’s next seven hitters.
The only other Diamondbacks to strike out seven straight batters in a single game are Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. Johnson accomplished that feat three times and Schilling did it once during the Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Series championship season.
”It’s a cool list to be part of,” Pfaadt said.
A.J. Puk and Justin Martínez worked the final two innings to complete the two-hitter.
The Diamondbacks broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning by scoring three runs off only one hit.
After Gabriel Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo walked to start the inning, Corbin Carroll hit a ball that got past third baseman Andruw Monasterio and went into left field. Moreno scored, Perdomo advanced to second and Carroll reached first on the play, which was ruled as a fielder’s choice with an error on Monasterio.
Ketel Marte followed by ripping a 3-0 pitch off the top of the right-field wall for an RBI single that knocked Brewers starter Tobias Myers out of the game. Perdomo scored on Christian Walker’s sacrifice fly that right fielder Sal Frelick caught in front of the wall.
Myers (8-6) allowed three runs — one earned — and four hits in four innings. He struck out five, walked three and threw 93 pitches.
“His stuff was good, especially early, but it just didn’t look like he was synced up tonight,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “A lot of three-ball counts. High pitch count for four innings. I probably would have jumped the gun a little earlier if we had a full bullpen. He still did some nice things.”
With their division title wrapped up, the Brewers rested shortstop Willy Adames for the first time this season. Adames had started each of Milwaukee’s first 152 games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Lovullo said there’s a possibility that OF Lourdes Gurriel could be activated from the injured list in time to play in this series. Gurriel has been dealing with a calf issue and last played for the Diamondbacks on Sept. 1.
UP NEXT
RHP Zac Gallen (12-6, 3.61 ERA) pitches for the Diamondbacks and RHP Colin Rea (12-5, 4.14) starts for the Brewers on Friday.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – A Milwaukee Brewers mascot cheers in the empty stands during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)