NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Sewald had been waiting for this moment since the New York Mets cut him after the 2020 season.
“They gave up on me, so it was pretty nice to get a little revenge today,” the Seattle reliever said.
Sewald relieved Marco Gonzalez with runners at second and third and struck out Starling Marte to escape a seventh-inning jam and keep the score tied. Ty France followed with a go-ahead single in the eighth, Sewald got three straight outs in the bottom half and the Mariners beat New York 2-1 Friday night in their first game at Citi Field.
“The Mariners version of Paul Seward is much different than the Mets version of Paul Sewald,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.
Sewald (2-1) was drafted by the Mets in 2012 and pitched in New York from 2017-20, going 1-14 with a 5.50 ERA in 125 relief appearances. Before the game, he talked with old teammates and stadium staff.
“The fans weren’t a huge fan of me when I was here, so no need to talk to them.” Sewald said.
He signed with Seattle in January 2021 and has gone 12-4. He started last season in the minors and revived his career after he was called up in mid-May, going 10-3 with a 3.06 ERA. He has a 3.38 ERA this season, his April interrupted by COVID-19.
“A lot of emotions positive and negative when I was here,” he said. “I had moments. There were some coaching decisions that weren’t ideal and there were some situations with up and down that weren’t ideal.”
Seattle changed his way of pitching.
“I don’t throw sidearm and sinkers. That was not ideal when that was the coaching decision over there,” he said. “The fact that I throw rising fastballs and sweeping sliders is different than the pitches I had while I was here and scrapped the changeup completely.”
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