Ryne Nelson, Starting Infield Back In Action vs. Giants
The Diamondbacks, fresh off a 9th-inning comeback victory against the Cleveland Guardians, will gear up to face a familiar foe on leap day today at Salt River Fields. The game will be webcast on dbacks.com.
Young right-hander Ryne Nelson will get the start for the Snakes, coming off a prior Spring start where his stuff looked excellent, en route to a scoreless two-inning showing, complete with just two base hits and five strikeouts.
Nelson has been trading punches with left-handed starter Tommy Henry to win the final starter's spot this Spring, with Henry's last outing comprising of three scoreless relief innings in yesterday's matchup. So far, the young righty has shown his solid fastball velocity beginning to show improvement in his ability to collect swing-and-miss on both the fastball and an altered slider.
Lineups:
Jack Sommers
Eugenio Suárez was a late scratch from the lineup with left side tightness. The D-backs have been alternating starting their main infield and outfield, today the starting infield gets the nod, but with Blaze Alexander inserted to replace Suárez. Geraldo Perdomo, Kete Marte, and Christian Walker all slot in at their normal spots.
Although Joc Pederson was listed originally as the left field starter as he returns from the birth of his fourth child, A.J. Vukovich will get the start. Recent signee Albert Almora will get his first game action with Arizona. The right-handed hitting center fielder last appeared with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, a season in which he slashed .223/.282/.349.
With Nelson slated to likely go only a couple of innings, the D-backs' other probable pitchers include RHP Humberto Castellanos, who could pitch some bulk innings, alongside RHP Josh Green and RHP Chris Rodriguez.
On the other side, the D-backs will get to face a short start from the 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up in Logan Webb. Webb pitched to a 3.25 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 2023, pitching 216 innings as the ace of the Giants' staff.
The Giants will give their starters some action, and Arizona will also get a taste of Korea League outfield sensation Jung-Hoo Lee for the first time.
