Ryne Nelson Solid in Fourth Spring Outing versus A's
Ryne Nelson had a solid, if unspectacular outing today in his fourth spring training start. He went 3.2 innings, giving up one run on a solo homer among the four hits he allowed. He walked one and struck out two, throwing 66 pitches, 43 for strikes.
While the Diamondbacks lost the game 6-5, dropping their spring record to 7-11, by far the most important aspect of the game was Nelson's continued development. Contrary to his previous outings, where he was throwing a hard slider in the upper 80's, today he backed off the velocity on that pitch. He did so by altering his grip in a search for more horizontal movement. Most important for the right-hander today was the work he did with his changeup. He threw nine of them and got three whiffs among the five swings.
"I thought I did a lot of things that I wanted to do". Nelson said. "I got the changeup working , it felt really good today. The best it's felt. Threw some sliders, got some swing and miss on it. I thought I mixed it up pretty well." Mixing it up is the key for Nelson, as when he can locate and shape his secondary pitches his mid 90's fastball becomes a true out pitch as well.
Torey Lovullo was happy with Nelson's outing too, especially with the way Nelson is utilizing all his stuff. "I thought Nelly threw the ball really well. He looked like he had a little bit better depth, a little more swing and miss potential with the slider. The Fastball was very aggressive, so he was pitching a little bit, he wasn't just up there throwing, and he was sequencing well."
Right in the middle of a battle for the 5th starter's spot in the rotation, Nelson is keeping the pressure on teammate Tommy Henry to answer back with a good outing his next time out.
Rickey Karcher gave up three runs in relief of Nelson. Miguel Castro had another rough outing, issuing a leadoff walk then a two-out walk before allowing a two-run double. His spring ERA now stands at 12.46 in 4.1 innings, giving up six hits, four walks and striking out seven. Paul Sewald, Ryan Thompson, and Kevin Ginkel all threw a scoreless frame however, which was a big positive for Lovullo. "It was nice to see the back end of the bullpen......they threw the ball well."
The D-backs went with their primary lineup against right-handed starters today, but through the first six innings managed just three hits and one run despite A's starter issuing four walks. "Maybe it's a sign of the times either one of two things: A) the guys may be getting a little bored, or B) we've got to tighten it up. I've got to figure that out. That's where I've got to come into play here."
The D-backs scored four runs in the bottom of the 9th thanks to A's pitchers issuing four walks and two hit-by-pitch, but Pavin Smith flew out to center with the bases loaded to end it.
Emmanuel Rivera played shortstop over the final three innings and made a couple of very nice plays. On one chance he ranged far to his right in the hole and then threw across his body to nab the runner at first. On other he had a tough charging chance, fielding it cleanly and making another strong throw. A career third baseman, being an option at shortstop would be a huge boost for Rivera's chances to make the Opening Day roster. His manager did not miss a chance to praise his glove work either.
"It was nice to see Manny [Rivera] get to shorstop, make some plays there" Lovullo said. "Those are the little targeted things that I know you guys are watching the way I am too. You want to see what it all looks like. I thought he did a good job there picking up the baseball."
Lovullo also said that he would not hesitate to use Rivera during the regular season at the position, capable of making all the routine plays. Rivera will be playing third base tomorrow against the Padres in Peoria and Elvis Andrus will be in the lineup at shortstop. Zac Gallen will be making his second spring training start. Game time is 1:10 P.M.
