Diamondbacks’ Paul Sewald makes 1st appearance since losing closer role

The Arizona Diamondbacks called on Paul Sewald for the first time since he was taken out of the closer role, and he threw a scoreless inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Arizona put Sewald into the game with a 4-1 deficit during the eighth inning of a 4-2 loss.

Sewald walked All-Star Bryan Reynolds on a 3-2 pitch to start the outing, but he picked Reynolds off at first base. That was Sewald’s first career pickoff.

The veteran pitcher then ran a 93.7 mph heater up-and-in on Rowdy Tellez to strike him out. Bryan De La Cruz popped up to second baseman Ketel Marte to end the inning.

Sewald threw 15 pitches, seven of which were balls after he struggled to find the zone on Wednesday (24 pitches, nine strikes). But his velocity was up by more than a tick from his season average with both the fastball (92.7 mph from 91.2) and sweeper (84 mph from 82.9).

The D-backs are going in another direction for the ninth inning after Sewald blew four saves in July and nearly a fifth on Wednesday. Manager Torey Lovullo has not named a closer replacement, as the club will read and react.

Lovullo explained Sewald has a mechanical issue that has prevented a typical strike thrower from hitting spots.

Sewald will pitch in some lower-leverage situations in the meantime.

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