Sewald notches 100th save after injuries nearly derailed his career

SAN FRANCISCO -- There were times over the past two years when Paul Sewald wasn't sure if he would pitch again, much less get an opportunity to return to a closer's role.

After helping the Diamondbacks to the World Series in 2023, Sewald struggled with health -- particularly last year, when he made just 22 appearances combined for the Tigers and Guardians.

"I wasn't even healthy enough to throw [much] last year, so a lot of that was just, am I going to get to play again? Because I'm getting older, and I wasn't healthy," the 36-year-old said. "So definitely more doubt just that I was going to get to play, let alone kind of be at my peak. I'm just fortunate to be out there pitching, really, is what it comes down to. I'm just excited that I'm healthy enough to go out there."

On Wednesday afternoon, Sewald closed out Arizona's 3-2 win over the Giants, his 14th save in 15 opportunities this year and the 100th of his career.

"Pretty special," Sewald said of the mark. "Two years ago, about this time, I would have felt like that was never going to happen."

The win completed a three-game sweep of San Francisco at Oracle Park, also wrapping up a 13-game stretch in which they played the Giants and Rockies consecutively. Arizona went 11-2 against the two teams, including a 6-0 mark against the Giants.

San Francisco is now 22-34 on the year, while the Rockies entered their game against the Dodgers on Wednesday night with a 20-36 mark.

The D-backs were 20-22 when the 13-game stretch started, and now they lead the NL Wild Card standings at 31-24. It's been quite a turnaround.

"We were just talking about it," Sewald said. "Those aren't the two best teams in the league, but, you know, you’ve got to beat the teams you're supposed to beat. And we did really well the last two weeks, and it's given us a huge cushion. This gives us the ability [where] you don't have to win every series. You don't get swept, you know, you're only losing one game off of .500. So just a lot of credit to just really good baseball, starting pitching, relievers and offense."

It looked like the Giants might turn the tables on Wednesday, as they scored a pair of runs in the third inning on a two-run single by Luis Arraez.

The Diamondbacks, though, tied things up in the sixth thanks to RBIs by Adrian Del Castillo and Ildemaro Vargas.

Then in the seventh, an error by reliever Matt Gage led to an unearned run and provided Arizona with its margin of victory.

The schedule now gets a bit tougher for the Diamondbacks, who will have Thursday off before opening a three-game set against the Mariners in Seattle followed by a return home to play four games against the first-place Dodgers.

The Mariners will, however, be without key contributors Cal Raleigh and Brendan Donovan, both of whom are on the injured list.

"A lot of people pick them to face each other in October," Sewald said of the Mariners and Dodgers. "No Cal, no Donovan, you know, that's a little different for [the Mariners]. They won't be at full strength, where we're getting healthier and we're getting better. But they're a really good team, they play really well at home. It's a tough, loud environment, so it'll be a good test. We feel good. We feel good about playing anybody in this league. So, we'll be excited to take the off-day, and then we'll get to work."