Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres

The old Brandon Pfaadt may just be back. The Diamondbacks optioned Pfaadt to Triple-A Reno to both get his pitch count built back up as a starter, but also to try and locate the form that just a year ago had the organization looking at him as a foundational piece. On Monday, Pfaadt dominated the Padres' lineup, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just four hits and did not walk a batter. He struck out six as the Diamondbacks rolled to an 8-0 win at Petco Park. In two starts since returning from Reno, Pfaadt has allowed one earned run over 10 1/3 innings. Pfaadt struggled in his first three starts, compiling a 5.94 ERA, and when the team needed to make room for Merrill Kelly in the rotation, Pfaadt was the odd man out and was shifted to the bullpen. The plan at that time was similar to what the Diamondbacks did with Ryne Nelson a year ago -- keep Pfaadt stretched out enough with long relief appearances so that he could jump back into the rotation if need be. But unlike with Nelson, the Diamondbacks were unable to get Pfaadt consistent work, and after 10 appearances out of the ‘pen, he had a 5.92 ERA and the decision was made to send him to Reno, where he could go back to starting. It proved to be a wise decision on several fronts. First, the Diamondbacks found themselves in need of starters after Nelson and Michael Soroka went down with injuries. And second, Pfaadt was able to get a reset in Reno, where he made three starts and had a 1.80 ERA in those games.