Team news
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks’ relievers not set, but closer could be Sewald – “Is he going to be the closer?” Lovullo said of Sewald, anticipating a question from a reporter. “Well, I’ll tell you I liked what I saw. I really liked what I saw. It’s the personality, it’s the confidence, it’s not looking glossy-eyed in a very critical situation. Those are the things that I know of, and the stuff is matching it right now. What does it mean? It looks really good.” Sewald has been working with a fastball residing in the general velocity range that has led to success in previous years in his career. He entered the day averaging 91.8 mph this spring; he averaged 91 mph against the Padres, topping out at 91.8 mph.
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[SI] Brandon Pfaadt’s Adjustments are Already Paying Off – Pfaadt was so efficient, the team decided to put him back out for the fifth, despite only intending to let him go four innings. Said Lovullo, “We felt like the pitch count was fine, the workload was very manageable, and he just did exactly what he did in that final inning for the first four.” But most importantly of all, Pfaadt’s sweeper was, once again, a weapon. He threw the pitch 10 times, got nine swings, and collected four whiffs. Three of his six strikeouts came on that sweeper. “A fantastic day for him, filled up the zone, ton of execution, a lot of swing-and-miss,” Lovullo continued. “Secondary stuff was good. So we’re very pleased with where he’s at.”
[Dbacks.com] After testing new swing on Classic stage, Thomas brings it to D-backs’ lineup – Gone is the high leg kick that he’s had since he was a kid, and in its place is a much smaller stride, which he hopes will help with his consistency at the plate. The early returns have been good. “He’s got a new approach that he’s been working on, slowing down that lower half,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s been very successful for him. I think on a bigger stage and a more intense atmosphere, he’s able to test run it, and it worked. We love the fundamental change, and we love the success that he’s having.”
[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks-Brewers Cactus League game pushed back due to expected high temperatures – The Arizona Diamondbacks announced Sunday that the start time for their Cactus League game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday has been pushed back due to expected high temperatures. The game, which was originally set to start at 1:10 p.m. MST at Salt River Fields, will now start at 6:10 p.m. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. The Diamondbacks are the latest Cactus League team to push their start time back as the metro Phoenix area could potentially see record highs later in the week. Friday’s forecast calls for a high of 107 degrees. The daily heat record for March 20 is 96 degrees.
And, elsewhere…
[ESPN] USA stifles Dominican Republic’s offense to make WBC final – Geraldo Perdomo threw his hands up in the air in disgust and United States closer Mason Miller lifted his in celebration.Miller’s full-count slider sailed below the strike zone but was called a strike by home plate umpire Cory Blaser on Sunday night, giving Team USA a 2-1 victory in a star-studded World Baseball Classic semifinal that was every bit as tense and as tightly contested as anticipated… [Perdomo] worked the count full and fouled off back-to-back 101 mph fastballs from Miller. The ensuing pitch clearly missed the bottom of the strike zone, but the automated ball-strike system, which will be used on a challenge basis for the first time during the regular season, is not part of this tournament.
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[USA Today] MLB players in LA Olympics? How lockout could keep stars from 2028 Games – Everything changes if a lockout wipes out the entire 2027 season. “If we don’t have a season,” [executive director of the players association Bruce] Meyer said before the USA-Dominican Republic WBC semifina at loanDepot Park, “we’re not going to play in the Olympics.” Time is of the essence and Meyer realizes that the Olympics would like to have a decision this summer, if possible. “It can be on a separate track,” Meyer said. “Theoretically, it can be done anytime. It doesn’t have to be at the same time as everything else is negotiated. I mean, it’s been kind of on a separate track.”
[NOLA.com] Savannah Bananas bring oddball baseball to sold-out Superdome: ‘Running away with the circus’ – The traveling show aspect of Banana Ball has a very old-timey vibe. One of the game’s emcees, whose stage name is The Young Professor, said that the camaraderie is like being back in college, only mobile, “like being on the road with all your friends.” The Professor, who said his real name “wasn’t important,” said that before the Bananas, he’d had some experience announcing pro wrestling. When he first became part of the Banana Ball crew, he still had a day job as a high school social studies teacher. “I was a teacher running away with the circus on the weekends,” he said, “and being back in the classroom Monday morning.” Now he’s part of the circus full time.
Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)Rating: C+.
Dir: Gareth Edwards.
Star: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend.
It appears that the entire Jurassic franchise is contractually obliged, not just to have dinosaurs, but annoying brats too. There’s three of them here: don’t tell me the makers couldn’t sacrifice one child to a T-Rex. Instead, it only gets to chew down on a rubber dinghy. In a sterling testament to its robustness, the dinghy is next seen floating sturdily and intact down the river, family of four aboard. I’ll take two, please. When doing what it should be doing, I didn’t think the film was bad. I thought the scene where they have to go into a Quetzalcoatlus nest to get their sample, is a lot of fun.