Diamondbacks Closer Paul Sewald Speaks to Media

After beginning the season with a brilliant 11-for-11 streak and an ERA in the 0.50s, Arizona Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald has hit a stretch of rough outings, blowing three consecutive saves, including a heartbreaking extra-innings loss at the hands of the Atlanta Braves last night.

Today, Sewald spoke to reporters and addressed the media after his most recent ninth-inning collapse. Although he was not in the clubhouse postgame to address the media last night, the closer was candid today.

"Let me just start by saying I didn't dodge you guys yesterday. I took a shower, ate, waited for a few minutes and nobody was in there so I left. I wasn't trying to dodge anybody, just wasn't going to hang out here all night if I could help it," Sewald said before a question was asked.

Going back to it, what do you think happened last night? What would you have done differently maybe?

"I guess I would have tried to throw a slider to Rosario, but that's not really how I judge my outings. If I pitched in hindsight, 20-20, I would never make the wrong pitch, right? It's disappointing, that pitch was at his head and he managed to get a hit on it, and then just missed kind of my location against Murphy. If he tries to pull it, he probably just pops it up, he just did a great job of going with it, and that's just the week I've had."

How do you think you've thrown overall in the last week?

"I mean, not terrible, that's like the craziest thing. I threw 18 strikes in 23 pitches, it's really hard to give up two runs without walking anybody if you just throw all strikes. Pretty frustrating that that's the way it's been going, but that's just the week I've had, so we'll just have to try and figure out how to turn it around."

How about in San Diego?

"LA and last night were better than it was in San Diego. I got ahead of Profar and then just kind of couldn't put him away and threw probably the worst pitch I've thrown all season, and then kind of let Cronenworth get off the hook, and then I had Manny [Machado] right where I wanted him and just didn't make the pitch."

"I've thrown a couple of bad pitches this week, and they've all just been hammered. It's just an unlucky week, they don't do that in batting practice. Just been one of those weeks for me."

Where was the pitch to Murphy supposed to land?

"Just the top, the very top of the zone. That's where I'm always trying to throw fastballs. Outer corner doesn't necessarily mean it's a good pitch for me. That's something that I know that that's not necessarily where I'm trying to go. Just because it was on the outer corner doesn't make that a good pitch in my book."

Your extension has been back out to 6.57 this month... what are your thoughts about how you're feeling and how that's played into everything?

"It's a long term thing. I wasn't trying to get it better in a week, and wasn't expecting results to be perfect just because I did that. That's just who I've been the last three years, and who I've been the last three years has been really good, so that's what I was trying to get back to."

"It's just been one of those things where I don't think making the adjustment was the wrong thing, it just was something that I know I needed to get to to be the best version of myself, and we haven't been the best this week but we'll get there eventually."

To borrow your phrase "let it eat," are you feeling like you're actually able to better do that than maybe you were a few weeks ago?

"I feel like I've been letting it eat... I've been trying to let it eat all year, it just hasn't really shown up on the scoreboard, but it'll come, it'll come at some point, and we're just going to try and get outs the best we can."

Have you had difficulty getting [the fastball] to the top of the zone?

"I don't think so, just the only times I haven't, have been hits. That's just really unlucky, that's just not the way the law of averages works. It's just been a bad week, and you've just got to try and throw a zero at some point and try to get some confidence and get back rolling."

Is it particularly frustrating because you've been so close to closing two of the three of these out?

"Yeah. Two outs, nobody on, to give up two runs, I mean I haven't looked at the percentages but that's extremely rare. That's probably the most frustrating thing is that it's like, it's been right there. Just means that at some point it'll turn. That's just not the way this game works, there's 150 years worth of stats, and when you get the first two guys out you usually pitched pretty well. We'll just have to try and get the first two guys out tonight."

I saw the look on your face after the homer, what is it like after something like that?

"Yeah, I mean, it doesn't really matter personally, it just is devastating, the role that I'm in, just feels like you let the team down when you lose, that's the only part that really gets me. I can live with pitching poorly, just is disappointing that the guys go out there and give ourselves a chance to win, and then we don't get it is the worst part. So that's really all I'm feeling internally."

What's your routine after an outing like that to just get away from baseball and just think about other things?

"It's usually easier to get away from baseball if it's remotely okay, it's been a tough week, and just trying to get back at it. But my family doesn't care if I'm a good pitcher or not, so that's the good part about it. Just did the normal family thing this morning, and came to the park ready to pitch tonight."

[Manager Torey Lovullo] said postgame that he's going right back to you, how's that to have the backing of the manager?

"He hadn't talked to me, so I just assumed when I walked in here today that I was the closer, and if he chooses that I'm not, then I'll pitch whatever inning that he tells me to pitch. That doesn't matter to me at all, it's totally irrelevant. I don't need a light show. I just go out there and try to pitch the best I can every time."

"If he calls me for the ninth inning today, I'll be ready to pitch the ninth inning, if he calls me in the fifth I'll also be ready to pitch the fifth."

As a competitor when something like this happens, how eager are you to get the ball right back the next day?

"You've just got to get back out there and post a zero. The only way to feel more confident is to have a zero. Now it's been a week without one, so it's just, the quicker I can get a zero the quicker I can get back into things."

"Not pitching me for a week would not do me any good to try and get me back on the horse. So hopefully I get another chance tonight, and I'm going to give it everything I have tonight."

Does anything feel different for you, or does it just feel like a reversal of fortunes?

"It's all been kind of the same. The stuff's been the same, location's been the same, and the results have been the complete opposite. It's just one of those things, that there's nothing you can do other than just try to get back out there and keep making good pitches."

"I have not gotten away with a mistake in the last three outings, and that's not realistic, but just have to do my best to not throw any mistake pitches, I guess, is what I have to try and focus on."

Two weeks ago... you felt like you were getting away with a lot of things, is that just the luck of baseball balancing out in a brutal way?

"You guys can go watch batting practice today, they get themselves out all the time. I couldn't pitch this bad if I told them what was coming for an entire week. That's just the reality of it. If I just told them I was trying to throw it right down the middle, I'd have better stats than I've had the last three times."

"Just one of those things where you have to go out there, and hopefully they just line out right at somebody three times tonight and I can escape, is really all that matters to me."