Nats score 10 in 1st as D-Backs' Pfaadt ties dubious record 3o4va
It was a first inning to forget for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brandon Pfaadt. 2j4d6
The right-hander tied a major-league record by surrendering eight earned runs without recording an out in a disastrous start Saturday against the Washington Nationals at Chase Field. Washington ultimately scored 10 runs in the top of the first, nine of which crossed the plate before the Diamondbacks recorded an out.
the washington nationals just scored 9 runs without recording an out if you even care pic.twitter.com/qqC2g6mVCq
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 1, 2025
Pfaadt allowed the first eight Nationals hitters to reach base before being removed by manager Torey Lovullo after José Tena's RBI double brought in the seventh run. Daylen Lile then drove Tena home with the eighth run charged to Pfaadt on an RBI double off reliever Scott McGough.
The outing marks just the eighth time a starting pitcher has given up eight runs without recording an out and the first since New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón in September 2023, per Stathead. Pfaadt is the seventh individual pitcher to accomplish the dubious feat, with the Cincinnati Reds' Paul Wilson doing it twice.
All eight runs Pfaadt allowed were earned, making him just the fourth starter to get charged with that many without recording an out, ing Rodón, Wilson, and Oakland's Blake Stein.
"What happened today was unacceptable," Pfaadt said, according to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports.
Pfaadt's final line goes into the books as eight earned runs on six hits and two batters hit by pitch. The poor performance raised his ERA by over a full run, going from 3.90 to 5.05.
The Nationals didn't stop after Pfaadt left. McGough gave up two more earned runs before recording an out to make it 9-0. Washington's nine runs before the first out tied the NL record set by the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 13, 1948, and came one shy of the MLB record, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
McGough finally retired the Nationals when Keibert Ruiz popped out to third, with the D-Backs trailing 10-0. He returned to the mound in the top of the second and allowed another run before hitting the showers.
All told, Washington sent 16 men to the plate during the top of the first, reaching base on nine hits, one walk, and three hit-by-pitches. Fourteen of the 16 Nats hitters reached base in the first, and all nine of their lineup scored at least once. They also managed to do all of this without hitting a home run.
The Nationals also became the second team in the expansion era (since 1961) to open a game with 11 consecutive hitters reaching base safely, according to MASN's Mark Zuckerman. The last club to do that was the Boston Red Sox on June 27, 2003, against Florida.
Shortstop CJ Abrams, meanwhile, became just the ninth player in history to reach base via hit-by-pitch twice in the same inning, according to Baseball Almanac. Abrams s the Orioles' Brady Anderson in 1999 as the only players to be plunked twice in the first inning of a game.
The D-Backs did their best to make a game of it, scoring seven unanswered runs over the final seven innings. But Washington's bullpen didn't break, as the Nats held on for an 11-7 win to improve to 28-30 on the season.