Ryne Nelson Takes the Mound vs Athletics

The Arizona Diamondbacks will take the bus to Hohokam Stadium in Mesa to take on the Athletics on Thursday. Game time is 1:05 p.m. Arizona time.

The game will be broadcast by the Athletics on MLB.tv and MLB.com as the Free Game of the Day.

Right-hander Ryne Nelson will get his second official start of the Cactus League. Overall, it's been a very successful spring for the 27-year-old, however there's been some inconsistency in both his velocity and location.

That said, he's still managed to allow just one earned run over 4.1 innings while striking out four. There's little to be worried about in Spring, as pitchers focus more on tweaking their deliveries and getting a feel for their stuff rather than locking in on results.

After Nelson, the D-backs will call upon RHPs Yilber Díaz, Ryan Thompson and Juan Morillo, as well as left-hander Kyle Nelson, among other minor league arms.

For the Athletics, it'll be right-hander Osvaldo Bido. Bido made 16 appearances for the A's last season, throwing to a solid 3.41 ERA over 63.1 innings. Though he is mainly a starting pitcher, he was used seven times in relief in 2024.

He throws a five-pitch mix, mainly zeroing in on his mid-90s four-seam and 86 MPH slider, but he also sports a changeup, cutter and sinker.

He's made three Cactus League starts so far, and has been hit hard, giving up 11 hits, five walks, four homers and 11 earned runs.

Lineups

The Diamondbacks will get Corbin Carroll anohter start, batting third behind Ketel Marte and Alek Thomas. Marte will get the day off his feet defensively as the DH, but will take at-bats.

The outfield alignment features Barrosa-Thomas-Carroll, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. sitting out. Eugenio Suárez continues to get playing time, as he's raked this spring. He had a pair of base hits on Wednesday and an excellent defensive play.

The Athletics will send out a lineup mostly full of major leaguers. The dangerous Brent Rooker will play left field, hitting behind the newly-extended Lawrence Butler.

Batting eighth and playing third will be infielder CJ Alexander. If that name sounds familiar, that's because it is. Alexander is the brother of D-backs' infielder Blaze Alexander.