Sewald worked a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his second save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Reds.
The right-hander needed only eight pitches (four strikes) to get the job done. Sewald has been his usual effective self since making his season debut May 7, giving up just one run with a 4:1 K:BB in his first four innings, and he has a firm hold on the closer role for Arizona.
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Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt: Fans nine in no-decision
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Pfaadt came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Reds, allowing one run on two hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out nine.
The right-hander generated 30 called or swinging strikes on 93 pitches in one of his best performances of the season, and his only real mistake resulted in a Santiago Espinal solo shot in the fifth inning. Pfaadt extended his quality start streak to four with the effort, a stretch in which he's posted a 3.24 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 24:4 K:BB through 25 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, but he'll face a tough test on the road early next week against the Dodgers.
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Diamondbacks' Ryan Thompson: Picks up first win
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Thompson (1-1) recorded Wednesday's win over Cincinnati, allowing one hit and striking out one over a scoreless eighth inning.
Thompson, who made an eighth consecutive scoreless appearance, has been the Diamondbacks' best reliever through the first month-and-a-half. The side-arming right-hander sports a 1.00 ERA with just two walks while striking out 13 over 18 innings. He leads the team with six holds.
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Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel: Delivers clutch hit
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Gurriel went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Cincinnati.
Gurriel's two-out, bloop double in the eighth inning plated the winning run. The outfielder has been fighting it at the plate and entered the contest batting .121 (8-for-66) with two RBI over the previous 16 games. His average has dropped .231 due to the slump, but Gurriel remains an important middle-of-the-order bat for Arizona and is second on the club with 25 RBI over 40 games.
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Diamondbacks' Christian Walker: Snaps homer drought
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Walker went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Reds.
Walker led off the second inning with his eighth homer of the season and first in 13 games. He entered the contest on a 1-for-16 run and is batting .217 for the month. The recent slump dropped his average to .264, but Walker still leads the team with 28 RBI.
Diamondbacks' Druw Jones: Overmatched early this season
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Jones is slashing .247/.357/.366 with one home run, two steals and a 37.2 percent strikeout rate in 27 games for Single-A Visalia.
Jones' contact rate is below 55 percent and his BABIP is .423, so his slash line is due for negative regression. It's troubling that Jones only has three homers in 240 career at-bats, but it's much more concerning that he appears overmatched against Single-A pitchers as a 20-year-old.
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Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson: Takes seat against lefty
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Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.
The lefty-hitting Pederson will head to the bench while southpaw Andrew Abbott toes the rubber for Cincinnati. Blaze Alexander will fill in for Pederson as Arizona's designated hitter.
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Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll: Getting day off Wednesday
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Carroll is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.
Carroll looked like he might be righting the ship earlier this month, but he's since fallen back into a 3-for-28 slump over his last seven contests. Jake McCarthy will patrol center field Wednesday while Carroll regroups.
Diamondbacks' Slade Cecconi: Burned second time through order
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Cecconi (1-3) was charged with Tuesday's loss to the Reds. He allowed six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 5.2 innings.
Cecconi has been dynamite the first time through orders, when opponents are hitting .029 with a .084 OPS, but things go sideways after that. The second time through, Cecconi is allowing a .355 average and 1.283 OPS. He told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that Tuesday's outing brought the struggles into focus: "It's a mental thing," the right-hander said. Cecconi said when he starts to get hit, he focuses on locating the ball, which takes velocity off whichever type of pitch he's trying to execute. He vowed to use Tuesday as a lesson that he can take into his next start Monday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Perdomo (knee) has started to take live at-bats, hit in the cages and field ground balls, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Perdomo, who's putting in five-to-seven hours per day while rehabbing at Salt River Fields, expressed optimism that he'll return by the end of the month. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo is not ready to put a timeline on the shortstop's return, but acknowledged Perdomo looks good executing the work he's currently doing. Next up, per the manager, is getting spikes on Perdomo's feet and having him run, cut, make turns and the agility to start and stop.
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Diamondbacks' Blaze Alexander: Knocks in two in loss
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Alexander started at second base and went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Reds.
Alexander filled in for a resting Ketel Marte and plated both Arizona runs with a two-out single in the third inning. Those were his first RBI in 13 contests. His playing time has been spotty, as the Diamondbacks are intent on Kevin Newman as the primary shortstop while Geraldo Perdomo (knee) works his way back.
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno: Not in Tuesday's lineup
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Moreno is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Reds.
Moreno finally clubbed his first home run of the season in Monday's win over Cincinnati, but he'll get a breather a day later. Tucker Barnhart will do the catching for Slade Cecconi.
Marte is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Reds.
Marte returned to second base for the last two games after spending two contests at designated hitter due to general body soreness. It would appear that him being absent from Tuesday's lineup is just a routine day off. Blaze Alexander is getting a start at second base and will bat second for the Diamondbacks.
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Diamondbacks' Kevin Ginkel: Two straight blown saves
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Ginkel allowed two runs on two hits and a walk over one inning, picking up a blown save in Monday's 6-5 win over Cincinnati.
Ginkel failed to hold an eighth-inning lead for a second consecutive appearance. He's allowed runs in three of the last four outings, all since he slid back from closer to a setup role.
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Diamondbacks' Kevin Newman: Plays hero Monday
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Newman went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in Monday's 6-5 win over the Reds.
Newman ended the night with a walk-off, two-run single off Cincinnati closer Alexis Diaz, who had hit a batter and walked two before the shortstop played hero. It was the third consecutive game with multiple hits for Newman, who is 8-for-12 with four doubles, a triple, two RBI and four runs scored during that stretch. He's added 74 points to his batting average -- from .179 to .253 -- due to this outburst and is more in line with his career mark of .259. He had become the team's primary shortstop, because his glove was more reliable than rookie Blaze Alexander. Newman should continue to serve that role until Geraldo Perdomo (knee) is ready, which is expected to be at some point in June.
Walker went 1-for-4 with a walk, one stolen base and two runs scored in Monday's 6-5 win over the Reds.
The steal was Walker's first of the year, which is a bit of a surprise since he stole 11 bases last season. He was caught stealing on his first two attempts in 2024. The first baseman has struggled in May, going 8-for-38 (.211) over 11 contests this month. He's still slashing a decent .265/.377/.437 with seven home runs, 27 RBI, 29 runs scored and five doubles over 42 contests overall.
