Kudos to Doug Drabek, the former Cy Young winner and Arizona Diamondbacks' Triple-A Reno pitching coach, who has helped turn starter Brandon Pfaadt into one the best pitchers in the game. Pfaadt lost his rotation job with the D-backs after three starts, was demoted to the bullpen, and was optioned to the Reno on June 3 with a 5.92 ERA. Pfaadt spent 3 ½ weeks in the minors with Drabek, returned to the Diamondbacks on June 30, and has become the hottest pitcher on the planet, and has pitched 32 ⅔ consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, out-dueling Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chris Sale in his last two starts. Pfaadt has made nine starts since his return, and is 7-1 with a 1.15 ERA, yielding a .203 batting average. He became only the third pitcher in franchise history to pitch seven shutout innings in consecutive starts while yielding two or fewer hits after his latest gem Friday night in the D-backs’ 2-0 victory over Atlanta. Nightengale's Notebook: Latest MLB rumors
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt dominates since return from minors