It was a wild and crazy night for the Arizona Diamondbacks, one that sadly ended in heartbreak after Paul Sewald coughed up his second blown save in as many outings.
Diamondbacks News
Arizona 8, San Diego 10
Arizona jumped ahead to a quick lead before the Padres clawed their way back and took a five-run lead into the ninth. The Diamondbacks then exploded for a six-run frame, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Alek Thomas and a pinch-hit homer for Randal Grichuk, hitting for Ketel Marte. Paul Sewald then entered the game to close things out, but instead, went home run, walk, home run to blow the save and crush the spirits of a not insignificant number of Arizona fans.
Diamondbacks Mount Epic Comeback
Alek Thomas and Randal Grichuk were poised to be the heroes of the night after swatting home runs in the ninth inning to fuel a six-run frame. The Offensive explosion should have been enough to lead the Diamondbacks back to a .500 record. However, the Friars had other thoughts and were able to force a second straight blown save out of closer, Paul Sewald.
Sewald, Snakes Walked Off by Padres
Paul Sewald entered July with a perfect record in save situations this year. He has now blown two saves in two outings, this one costing the team in multiple ways.
Diamondbacks Big Night Spoiled by Sewald
While this loss is just one ga,e out of 162, it still stings more than many otehrs will. The Diamondbacks mounted an epic comeback against the team they are chasing in the wild card race. Only to see it squandered. The team was looking for a big bounceback from Paul Sewald after his first stumble of the season on Tuesday. Instead, he faced three batters and allowed all three to score. The loss also once again pulls Arizona away from Mt. 500, a summit they were three outs away from cresting last night.
Christian Walker Still Eyeing All-Star Game
The player ballots for selecting team reserves were already turned in before Christian Walker destroyed Chavez Ravine. This means the recent outburst of longballs will not help his candidacy. However, the league will be making its injury replacement selections on Sunday and Walker stands a decent chance of filling in for Bryce Harper and his balky hamstring.
Diamondbacks Likely to Select Yilber Diaz
The Diamondbacks are “likely” to promote pitching prospect Yilber Diaz for his MLB debut next week, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The right-hander would get the ball to start Monday night’s series opener against the Braves. Diaz is not on the 40-man roster, but the Diamondbacks currently have an open spot on the 40-man, so they would not need to make a corresponding move to select his contract. While not quite the sort of promotion to the Majors the team seemed intent upon, the young hurler has done everything possible to reach this point this year. His debut and his ability to miss bats in bunches should generate plenty of excitement for Monday’s tilt.
Other Baseball News
Discord in the Bronx
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was unconcerned about criticism from Aaron Judge’s personal hitting coach. Richard Schenk posted Thursday on X: “They’ve lost 13 out of 18 while he’s hitting like an MVP. The Yankees offensive player development is terrible.”
Yankees’ Spiral Continues
A major league-best 49-21 through June 12, New York is a big league-worst 5-15 since. The Yankees wasted a three-run lead against the Boston Red Sox in the latest deflating defeat Friday night.
Pirates Tie Club-Record with Seven Home Runs
The Mets faced off against Paul Skenes and the Pirates on Friday night. Allowing seven home runs, the Mets never stood a chance against the young phenom.
Miranda Makes it 10
Minnesota’s Jose Miranda opened up the hitting on Friday, giving him 10 hits in his last 10 at-bats. The prolific span sets a team record.