Paul Sewald relives brutal tackle by Citizens Bank Park staff: "Smoked that guy right in front of us"
Paul Sewald has been one of his team's most effective bullpen pieces this postseason. But for the esteemed closer, one of his top moments of the playoffs so far came in a spectator capacity.
After the Phillies' decisive 10-0 win over the B-Backs in Game 2 of the NLCS, the crowd at Citizens Bank Park was defeaning. One fan took things a step further, deciding to hop onto the field of play.
While the fan's freedom on the field lasted only moments before he was hauled down by security guards, the incident was widely recorded. In replays of the event, members of the Diamondbacks bullpen, including Paul Sewald, could be seen laughing hysterically.
"This Phillies fan ran on the field to celebrate Game 2's win and a security guard tackled him" - The Sporting News
Sewald was at the bullpen at the time of the apprehension, mere feet from where the tackle took place. The fan, identified as "Brian", later stated that he was taken to a local police station, where he was handed a lifetime ban from Citizens Bank Park.
Sewald, 33, came to the D-Backs by virtue of a trade with the Seattle Mariners during the regular season. So far in the 2023 postseason, Paul Sewald is 5/5 in save opportunities, and has yet to surrender a run across six whole innings of work for his team.
In a recent interview with Chris Rose Sports, Sewald shed light on the affair involving the rogue fan. According to Sewald, he was duly amused by the security detail hammering "Brian", sending him to the ground like a ton of bricks.
"Paul Sewald loved how Philly fans reacted to the security guard tackle" - Chris Rose Sports
The energy exudes by the fans may have awoken something within the core of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Snakes were able to take the ensuing pair of games, with Paul Sewald picking up a win and a save, respectively, as his team evened the NLCS.
Paul Sewald and D-Backs will once again come face-to-face with Philly crowd
Now down 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, Sewald and the D-Backs will need to win two in Philly, or begin packing. While the crowd antics in Philly are amusing at the best of times, the D-Backs will do well not the get tackled by the red-hot Phillies offense in the final two games of the NLCS.