SAN DIEGO — Brandon Pfaadt convinced his manager to give him one more inning of work, then went out for the bottom of the eighth inning and retired the San Diego Padres in order with two strikeouts.
In hindsight, Pfaadt wished he’d gone out for the ninth inning and tried for a complete game. But a season high of eight innings pitched with two runs allowed on four hits was more than enough to lead the Diamondbacks to an 8-2 win over the Padres on Wednesday, July 8, at Petco Park.
Pfaadt made sure to mention his catcher, James McCann, who has quickly established a rapport with several starting pitchers and has drawn praise from them. Pfaadt didn’t shake off McCann once, and McCann helped his pitcher with a solo home run.
After a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning, Pfaadt set down 13 Padres hitters in a row. A newly developed cutter helped him get outs.
“I think six (innings) is my goal every outing,” Pfaadt said. “To go past that is pretty special.”
The Diamondbacks hit four home runs, none more impactful than Geraldo Perdomo’s grand slam in the fifth inning, which gave Pfaadt more than enough run support.
“Offensively, we’re capable of doing that against anybody at any time,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
“He (Pfaadt) was going back out there for the seventh (inning). What I’ve learned over the course of time is when somebody’s feeling that powerful in the moment and we have a little bit of wiggle room, to get out of their way.”
The Diamondbacks (46-47) have taken two of the first three games of this four-game series with the Padres, and if not for two over-the-wall catches on July 8 to take away home runs, could have three victories here.
Pfaadt, helped by an extra day of rest between starts, put an exclamation point on his night with a called strike three on Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. to end the eighth.
Kevin Ginkel finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Perdomo’s blast was his 10th home run of the season, second grand slam of 2025 and third career grand slam.
“I know I can do more than that,” Perdomo said. “I just try to get on base, take a quality at-bat and if it’s a homer, it’s going to happen. If not, we keep working.
“I’m really proud of the work I’ve put in so far with the hitting coaches, with my hitting coaches at home and we say a phrase. ‘Hard work pays off.'”
The Diamondbacks led 2-0 with solo home runs from McCann and Eugenio Suarez before Perdomo’s blast. One of the runs Pfaadt gave up was Gavin Sheets’ solo home run in the seventh.
Suarez raised his home run total to 29 this season, hitting his first since July 4 in the top of the fourth inning with two outs.
McCann hit his second home run, going into the upper deck in left field in the third inning, as he continues to hit well and get on base since being signed on June 23.
The Diamondbacks loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth. McCann walked and Alek Thomas singled with one out. After Corbin Carroll struck out, Ketel Marte drew a walk to set up Perdomo’s damaging home run that drew boos from the Padres crowd.
In the top of the eighth, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off with a double, took third on a groundout and scored on a grounder to Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who bobbled the ball but threw out Tristin English at first base.
It was English’s first major league run batted in, and he was given the ball to commemorate the moment. English was called up from Triple-A on July 6 but had yet to play until this game.
Carroll, who had struck out four times, hit the Diamondbacks’ fourth home run of the night and his 21st of the season in the top of the ninth. Three batters later, Suarez was hit in the left hand by a pitch and needed to be checked by a trainer, but he remained in the game and took first base.
Lovullo and Suarez himself said the All-Star third baseman was OK after the game.
Saalfrank back in big leagues after suspension
Andrew Saalfrank was back in a big league clubhouse on July 9, more than 14 months after he last pitched in a game for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 27-year-old left-hander was suspended last June for a year by MLB for betting on baseball games in 2021 and 2022, and could not work out at the team facility for most of that time, nor play in the minor leagues during the suspension. After being reinstated last month, Saalfrank pitched briefly in the Arizona Complex League before reporting to Triple-A Reno, where he appeared in 10 games and posted a 7.15 earned run average with two saves.
Saalfrank was called up from Reno after right-handed pitcher Bryce Jarvis was optioned there.
“It’s a long time coming. I think the last year, you kind of envisioned it a certain way,” Saalfrank said. “So just getting back here, seeing the guys, seeing familiar faces and being back where you want to be I think is a really fulfilling feeling, given all the hard work of the last year. Super blessed for the opportunity, to say the least.”
Saalfrank, who pitched well during the Diamondbacks’ run to the World Series in 2023, got a place to live in the Phoenix area and appeared in two games for Arizona last season before the suspension was handed down.
He also spent some time back in hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Thirty days before the end of his suspension, he was allowed to get back into the Diamondbacks’ Salt River Fields facility to train.
The call to his agent came that he was being investigated before the 2024 Triple-A season started, and Saalfrank could only wait until his suspension was announced.
“I had time to spend at home that, as a baseball player, you don’t normally have,” Saalfrank said. “I obviously would rather have been playing, but still trying to make the most of the time that we did have.”
Saalfrank said he was well received in the clubhouse and happy to see teammates. He’s been following the Diamondbacks and their ups and downs, and reached out to some of them to keep their spirits up.
“Unfortunately, there was a lot of dark days,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to be on the other side of this.”
Saalfrank said he took responsibility for what he did, and Lovullo said the pitcher included him in the round of phone calls he made to key people to explain the situation.
“He took ownership for what he did,” Lovullo said. “He made all of his phone calls. I’ll never forget the phone call that he made to me when we connected for the first time after the suspension. He knew that he made a mistake and he was going to serve the penalty. He did, and through the process he continued to believe in himself …
“We got a pitcher that’s helped us win games before and we anticipate that happens again in the future.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, on the return of pitcher Andrew Saalfrank after his suspension for betting on baseball. pic.twitter.com/ITpLRglAJ9
— José M. Romero (@RomeroJoseM) July 10, 2025
Saalfrank joins a bullpen remade after injuries, and with his bullpen experience could be part of the group that enters close games.
Major league debut for Tristin English
English made his major league debut on July 9, batting seventh in the Diamondbacks’ order.
English hit .338 in 58 games at Reno this season. He was a Diamondbacks third-round draft pick in 2019 out of Georgia Tech, and has played at every level of the Diamondbacks’ minor league system plus winter ball in the Dominican Republic.
English pitched at Petco Park as a youngster in a showcase game. He was drafted as a potential pitcher but the Diamondbacks saw him more as a hitter.
English planned to have family members and friends at the game, including his wife, Rachel, two small children, his mother and his best friend. He got the start with Josh Naylor getting a day off for rest.
“I don’t know if nervous is the right word,” English said before the game. “I’ve been saying it since I was probably like 4 years old, that I was going to be a major league baseball player.”
Plan B was football, English said with a laugh.
Gabriel Moreno update
Lovullo said catcher Gabriel Moreno, who is on the 10-day injured list with a hand injury, saw a hand specialist recently and the fracture in his hand remains. It will be about another 10 days before Moreno is re-evaluated, Lovullo said.
Moreno hasn’t played since early June, after being injured late in a game at Cincinnati.
Coming up
Thursday, July 10: At San Diego, 6:40 p.m. Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-5, 5.78) vs. Padres RHP Randy Vasquez (3-4, 3.79).
Friday, July 11: At L.A. Angels, 6:38 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (5-2, 3.39) vs. Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-6, 4.19).
Saturday, July 12: At L.A. Angels, 6:38 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (7-9, 5.15) vs. Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (3-6, 3.02).
(This story has been updated to add new information.)