SAN FRANCISCO — Paul Sewald reached a notable milestone Wednesday night when he recorded the 100th save of his major-league career, a marker that seemed uncertain as recently as a year ago. The 36-year-old right-hander closed out a 3-2 win at Oracle Park by retiring the side in order in the ninth inning, notching his second save in as many days and his 14th save in 15 chances this season for Arizona.
Arizona Diamondbacks reliever on the mound during the ninth inning amid a packed stadium; photo used with an article about the team's closer reaching a career-save milestone.
Sewald’s path back to this role has been marked by setbacks. After losing the closer’s job in Arizona midway through the 2025 season, he finished that year on the injured list and managed just 22 appearances. Persistent injuries left him unsure whether he would be able to continue at the major-league level, and he described a period when he was not even healthy enough to throw. “Two years ago, I would have felt like that was never going to happen,” Sewald said after Wednesday’s game. “So just really excited, especially with the last year-and-a-half of being injured most of the year. It just feels good to be able to go out there and pitch healthy. It’s super fun, but I’m just excited to be out there at all. So pretty special, for sure.”
The Diamondbacks signed Sewald to a one-year contract after spring training had already begun, adding another experienced arm as the club navigated a bullpen shortage. Arizona opened the season without A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, both on the 60-day injured list following elbow surgeries, and Sewald acknowledged during spring camp that he was not the team’s established closer but could be the one to collect saves while others worked back to health. Through Wednesday’s game, he has responded by posting a 2.45 ERA in save situations and has frequently kept things simple: in 10 of his 14 saves this season he faced the minimum three hitters.
Sewald’s pitching mix — low-90s fastballs elevated in the zone and sweeping breaking balls down in the zone — has been effective in those late-inning spots. He sits tied for fourth in the majors in total saves and is second in the National League behind San Diego’s Mason Miller. The contrast between the two relievers highlights very different profiles at the back end of the bullpen: Miller averages a fastball around 101.3 mph, while Sewald’s heating measure sits near 91.4 mph.
Manager Torey Lovullo and the Diamondbacks have leaned on a clearer set of roles in the bullpen this year, a strategy that helped the club in 2023 when defined innings for relievers produced more stability. In that setup, Ryan Thompson was typically used in the seventh, Kevin Ginkel in the eighth and Sewald in the ninth, a configuration that has allowed Lovullo to manage the relief corps with more predictability than the constant shuffling the team experienced a year ago.
The bullpen’s steadiness has translated into fewer pitchers being needed for saves through the early part of the season. Arizona’s 31-24 club had already received save contributions from three pitchers — Sewald leading the way with the bulk of them, and Jonathan Loaisiga and Juan Morillo with one apiece — a marked difference from the same point last year when the team had used eight different pitchers to close out games.
There are still moving parts. A.J. Puk is working his way back from elbow surgery with a target for a mid-June return, and the club will have to manage innings and roles as those arms rejoin or ramp up. For now, the Diamondbacks enter June with a winning record and a closer who has rediscovered both health and form after two years of doubt and injury.
On the franchise leaderboard, Sewald’s 43rd save in a Diamondbacks uniform moved him into eighth all-time in club history. He needs three more saves to climb into the top six of Arizona’s career saves list, where Jose Valverde leads the franchise with 98 saves, followed by J.J. Putz (83), Matt Mantei (74), Byung-Hyun Kim (70) and Brad Ziegler (62). For Sewald, the immediate focus remains simple and pragmatic: staying healthy and continuing to finish games for a team that has turned to him in high-leverage moments this season.