PHOENIX (WDRB) -- A Louisville native has pitched his way into the Major League Baseball postseason history books.
On Thursday night in the third game of the National League Championship Series, Trinity High School and Bellarmine University alumnus Brandon Pfaadt became the first pitcher in MLB history to give up zero runs and issue zero walks in back-to-back playoff starts.
Pfaadt struck out 9 batters over 5.2 innings in a 2-1 win for the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Philadelphia Phillies. Arizona now trails Philadelphia 2-1 in the series.
"It feels great to pick up the team," Pfaadt said in his postgame news conference. "We went down 0-2, so that was a big win for us. I think coming out with that win helps us get some momentum on our side and we'll see where it takes us tomorrow."
Pfaadt only surrendered 2 hits in the outing, throwing 48 strikes out of 70 total pitches. His 9 strikeouts are a career high in his first MLB season and the former Knight said he was able to keep a hot Phillies lineup in check with two effective pitches.
"The heater up was good today," Pfaadt said. "Then, the slider control was good, especially with two strikes expanding the zone. So, I think having those two pitches being on today was a key and using other pitches as well to get ahead, show something different and put guys away when we needed to."
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo decided to go to the bullpen in the fifth inning. Since Pfaadt only threw 70 pitches, many fans in attendance booed, wanting him to continue his strong outing. However, he did not argue with the decision and supported his relief pitchers.
"The bullpen did great," Pfaadt said. "Obviously, I'm a competitor. I want to keep going. Everybody does. But at the end of the day, you just got to trust his decision and move forward, go to the bullpen and let them do their jobs."
The victory was the rookie's third career playoff start. His last outing was shorter, but still effective, as Pfaadt gave up just 2 hits over 4.1 innings in a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 11. The 25-year-old acknowledged he is still feeling the nerves of his first playoff run.
"I was still pretty amped up," Pfaadt said. "You wake up in the morning and you think about it all day. So going in, just being present in the moment and taking that adrenaline into the game and using it to your advantage."
Arizona made the Bellarmine alumnus the second-highest draft pick in program history back in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. Pfaadt worked his way to being Arizona's Minor League Pitcher of the Year before getting called up to the majors.
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