Pfaadt hit by liner but avoids major injury in D-backs' extra-inning win

SAN DIEGO -- In a year in which they have had no luck with injuries, the D-backs got fortunate Saturday night when starter Brandon Pfaadt escaped serious injury after being struck by a line drive.

That was just one of the things that went right for the D-backs, who managed to give up a late lead but then managed to beat the Padres, 7-5, in 10 innings at Petco Park using a pair of pitchers who were not on their 40-man roster when the season began.

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Start with Pfaadt, who is the lone member of the team’s Opening Day starting rotation to avoid time on the injured list this year and who has been one of their most consistent pitchers.

After allowing a first-inning run, Pfaadt cruised until the fifth, when Luis Arraez hit a 98 mph line drive that struck Pfaadt on his left ankle. The sharp sound could be heard throughout the ballpark, and Pfaadt was in obvious pain.

Manager Torey Lovullo, pitching coach Brent Strom and athletic trainer Max Esposito immediately went out to check on Pfaadt, who was alternating between trying to walk the injury off and bending over.

After Esposito examined Pfaadt, the right-hander got up onto the mound to try to throw some pitches to see how the ankle would hold up, but Lovullo stopped him before he could start and told him his night was done.

“I told him I made the decision to remove him from the game, and he wasn’t going to talk me out of it,” Lovullo said. "It’s one of those things where he's too valuable. It's all about the human being first and not knowing what was really going on in that moment, in that situation, I just said, ‘You got to come off the field and get evaluated.’”

As he waited for the results of the X-ray, Pfaadt was worried.

“It hit me pretty good, and I've never really been hit like that before,” Pfaadt said. “It got me in a bony area, too, so I didn't know what to expect going into [the X-ray]. But it was good news coming out of that.

“We've just got to deal with swelling from here on out. I think there shouldn't be any missed time, as long as the swelling goes down a little bit. So they weren't worried about it.”

It was a huge relief for the D-backs, who can ill afford another injury to a starting pitcher. Veterans Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly are already on the injured list, along with rookie Blake Walston.

The D-backs were playing a little short already with second baseman Ketel Marte ruled out with tightness in his lower back and closer Paul Sewald and setup man Justin Martinez both not available due to their recent workloads.

The two pitchers’ absences would loom large late in the game after reliever Ryan Thompson allowed a game-tying RBI double to Ha-Seong Kim in the eighth.

Thompson was able to hold the Padres scoreless in the ninth. But after the D-backs scored three in the 10th, they had to turn to Thyago Vieira to try and nail things down in the bottom half.

Vieira was claimed off waivers from the Orioles last month, and he struggled as the Padres scored a run off him and loaded the bases with just one out.

That’s when Lovullo turned to Humberto Castellanos, who pitched for the D-backs in 2022 before undergoing Tommy John surgery that year, which forced him to miss the entire 2023 season.

After pitching in Mexico last winter, Castellanos signed a Minor League deal with the D-backs. Thanks to all the injuries the team has suffered, the 26-year-old found himself back in the big leagues.

Castellanos struck out Kim and got Kyle Higashioka to fly out to end the game. The right-hander recorded the first save of his MLB career.

“This is a great moment for you,” Lovullo told Castellanos when he handed him the ball on the mound in the 10th. “Let’s go out and get it done.”