NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS PHILLIES

October 19, 2023

Brandon Pfaadt

Chase Field

Arizona Diamondbacks

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Diamondbacks 2, Phillies 1

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Brandon Pfaadt.

Q. How does it feel to perform this way as a rookie on this stage back-to-back starts and to have zeros?

BRANDON PFAADT: Yeah, it feels great. It feels great to pick up the team. We went down 2-0. That was a big win for us. We knew that going in.

I think coming out with that win that helps us get some momentum on our side, and mostly where it takes us tomorrow.

Q. What's your reaction watching Ketel have that hit and walking off that way?

BRANDON PFAADT: That was incredible. Right man, right spot. Ketel is amazing. He can do that in his sleep, so having Ketel and all those guys start getting hot and we're going to be a dangerous team for sure.

Q. Torey talked about how you had 18 hitters plus or minus 4. I'm curious if knowing that changes the way that you approach how you moderate your effort in a start like that?

BRANDON PFAADT: No, not necessarily. I think just going out there going inning by inning, batter by batter, I think that's what you have to do in any start that comes. I don't think there's anything that was different.

Just going out there and attacking trying to do my job.

Q. Brandon, feels like kind of a rehash of what you were asked last week about coming out when you are throwing so well, but Torey said he is asking guys on the bench, am I an idiot for taking him out right here? Can you hear the crowd booing him for taking you out?

BRANDON PFAADT: Yeah, but at the end of the day who knows -- woulda, coulda, shoulda. Bullpen did great. They've been doing great the whole postseason, so you can't think that way in taking a starter out.

Obviously I'm a competitor. I want to keep going. Everybody does, but at the end of the day you just have to trust his decision and move forward, go to the bullpen, let them do their jobs.

Q. What specifically do you think was working well for you and how you were able to execute?

BRANDON PFAADT: I think the heater up was good today. The slider control was good, especially with two strikes, expanding the zone.

I think having those two pitches being on today was a key and using the other pitches as well to get ahead, show something different, and put guys away when we needed to.

Q. Brandon, in the sixth inning there as you're looking at who is coming up, are you pretty much convinced you are probably not going to face Schwarber again in that situation, or are you even thinking about it?

BRANDON PFAADT: I wanted to face him.

Q. I know you wanted to, yeah.

BRANDON PFAADT: Like I said, it's go hitter by hitter, inning by inning. If you think about that two hitters prior, you're not thinking about the hitter in the moment. I wasn't thinking about that, and I was just trying to get each guy out individually.

Q. If you look up at the scoreboard now, you're at 70 pitches, and it's like you got to think this is great. They were supposed to only let me pitch 40 or 50 pitches, and that's what you've been pitching. So they had more confidence in you today.

BRANDON PFAADT: I think how the game went, and it was a 0-0 ball game at the time, and I think it was just -- it is what it is, so...

Q. What were your nerves or adrenaline like today compared to maybe a week and a half ago against Milwaukee?

BRANDON PFAADT: I think they were similar. I was still pretty amped up as everybody is. You know, you wake up in the morning and you think about it all day. Going in the moment just being present in the moment and taking that adrenaline into the game and using it to your advantage.

Q. After what happened today, talk about the resiliency and the character of your club?

BRANDON PFAADT: Our team is awesome. We don't stop fighting. Like I said, that was a big win for us to get the momentum on our side, and we're just going to keep going after it.

Q. Brandon, at times maybe because of the rough start that you had to the season, some of us may have doubted. And I know that you've been very gracious throughout the entire process of your turn-around to the season. How satisfying is it just on that score to be able to come up today the way you did?

BRANDON PFAADT: This feels great. It feels good to contribute to the team, especially in the postseason. We went through some ruffles early on in the season, but that's kind of -- we worked on things to be in this spot and perform like we did today.

Q. Was there a different mentality you had to come into this knowing the team is down 0-2, or was it kind of the same preparation, same mindset for you?

BRANDON PFAADT: A little bit of both. I think knowing you are down by two games, you kind of go in like a must-win game. So you want it a little more I think.

Going into today I think everybody kind of thought that, like we need to win this game to get back on track. Because we didn't want to go down 3-0. Just being one game away, I think having it 2-1 helps us in a lot of ways.