Sewald shows what Mets are missing

Getting booed by the fans at Citi Field is nothing new for Paul Sewald. That is why shutting them up on Friday night felt so good.

Sewald, who was drafted by the Mets in 2012 and spent his first four seasons in the big leagues playing for them, returned to Citi Field on Friday night with the Mariners. He entered the game in the seventh inning to boos from the Mets’ fans and, with runners on second and third in a 1-1 game, got Starling Marte to strike out. He returned in the eighth inning after the Mariners took a 2-1 lead and got three outs, including a strikeout of Eduardo Escobar to end the inning.

“I had a lot of positive moments here and unfortunately too many negative moments when I was a Met,” Sewald said before the Mets’ 5-4 win on Saturday night. “That’s kind of why I’m not anymore. [Friday night] was emotional. The fans were not the biggest fans of mine when I was here so to do it in front of them, especially when they booed me coming in, it was a little extra motivation, a little bit extra excitement. Nothing against New York fans, they’re very passionate. When things are going well, they’re the best fans to have. When they’re not going so well, they’re tough on you.

“It just felt good to do it in this stadium where I grew up as a pitcher.”

The Mets non-tendered Sewald after the 2020 season and he signed with Seattle. It was hard to argue with the Mets’ decision. Sewald had a 5.50 career ERA with the Mets and went 1-14 in 125 games.

When he came off the mound Friday, he let out a scream and it was clear what the performance meant to him.

“It was 18 months coming,” Sewald told Mariners reporters on Friday night. “They got rid of me, and I was hoping that I could get up here and pitch against them. It’s pretty nice to do it really well and help our team get the win for it.

“They gave up on me, and so it’s pretty nice to get a little revenge today. Most importantly, we got a win.”