
In the NLDS series of the 2023 MLB postseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks lead the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of two games to none. Thanks to some clutch hitting, outstanding beginning pitching, and a dominant closer called Paul Sewald who didn’t even join the team until August, the D-backs haven’t lost yet. General Manager Mike Hazen acquired Sewald at the MLB Trade Deadline in August for a high cost of three players, including Josh Rojas, who was a fan favorite. But if the D-backs don’t have Paul Sewald, it would be accurate to state that they probably won’t even qualify for the postseason.
His play during the D-backs’ postseason run has been essential to their success. In the quick two-game playoff sweep over the Brewers in the Wild Card round, he made two saves. In the ninth inning of Game Two against the Dodgers, he just secured his first 1-2-3 save. He has previously accomplished this feat without attempting a save, but this was the first time he did so while wearing a D-backs uniform. The D-backs won 4-2 and now only need to win one of their remaining three games to get to the NLCS, so it couldn’t have come at a better moment.
Sewald has a 0.00 ERA in all three games and three innings of this playoff play with one hit, four strikeouts, and two hits by pitches. His stellar FIP is 2.59. However, according to Sewald, the D-backs clubhouse as a whole is in agreement with the statement “The job’s not finished, we have to win another game” as Zac Gallen echoed it in his own news conference.
Sewald was quick to recognize that the bullpen has improved since his arrival because, in his opinion, he gave everyone else room to assume more responsible roles and unwind. Ryan Thompson and Andrew Saalfrank, who successfully handled a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning and Thompson’s clean seventh inning to assist the D-backs keep their advantage until the ninth inning so Sewald could end it, particularly impressed him.
“I want to give Ryan Thompson a lot of credit for assuming sort of that seventh-inning position as soon as he arrived on September 1st. Everyone knew their job as it really began to blur into six, seven, eight, and nine. And Salty [Saalfrank], a rookie, handled some extremely important situations here in the postseason with his eight to nine innings of experience. When they keep scoring zeros at the end of the game and I am in a comfortable lead, it makes my job much easier.
Sewald reflected on his career and time in Seattle, confessing that he had many fond memories there and had anticipated a trade. He needed some time to come to terms with the fact that he was “eager to come to Arizona. We were eager to join a club that had performed admirably for the majority of the season because we adore Phoenix, and it put us in a position where a closer might be the final element needed to get to the postseason. He was right to assume that a closer was the Diamondbacks’ most important asset if they were to qualify for the playoffs and possibly make a splash as an underdog club.
Both Sewald and the Diamondbacks are playing for nothing. They are aware that they are the underdogs and that they are not supposed to be winning as many games as they have or as quickly as they have in their postseason. Why would we play with anything to lose? asked Sewald. We were seeded sixth. Milwaukee wasn’t supposed to be a victory for us. No one predicted that we would triumph. When we haven’t performed well against the Dodgers, no one will choose us to win. I believe we are into the game with a lot of confidence and are not frightened to lose.
The D-backs take on the Dodgers in Game Three of the NLDS at Chase Field in front of a packed house with the hopes of securing a spot in the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2007. Expect Arizona’s closer to take the mound in the ninth inning if the score is still tied in the hopes of winning the game.