Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson is Flipping His Narrative at Perfect Time

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson walked off the mound in Mexico City with a brutal 7.71 ERA, back on April 26.

Considering that start was just one removed from his unprecedented blowup on April 19 — in which he gave up eight runs and recorded only one out — the alarms were starting to sound. His flags looked the reddest they'd been since the beginning of his 2024 season.

But since that Mexico City outing, Nelson seems to have found his high gear. In the five starts following that performance, his ERA has plummeted over three full runs, pitching to a 2.36 ERA over the course of 34.1 innings in five excellent May starts.

After what became the longest start of his career in a Diamondbacks win over the Rockies Sunday afternoon, that ERA plummeted to 4.65, with plenty of season still to go.

Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson throws deepest-ever outing

May 19, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson (19) reacts after giving up a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Nelson has steadily developed into an arm that is capable of providing lengthy outings. His ability to limit walks and work efficiently — even without his best stuff — has been one of the more impressive aspects of his rise to excellence in Arizona's rotation.

Coming in to Sunday, Nelson had a career-long outing of 7.2 innings. He'd also pitched into the seventh inning in three straight starts, completing the frame in his previous two.

Nelson beat his career high by one out Sunday afternoon. Though it took him 103 pitches (69 strikes), he completed eight innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits and three walks.

The lone run came in the eighth, as former Diamondback Jake McCarthy led off the inning with a single, moved to third base on a wild pitch and groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

It was otherwise a somewhat blemish-free performance, though Nelson did not rack up the strikeouts, by any means. Twice in the first two innings, Nelson allowed a leadoff baserunner, only to immediately erase them with a routine double play ball.

It was more than just another good outing for Nelson. It was a continuation of a positive trend, and a deep, bullpen-preserving outing that came at the perfect time.

Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson's deep start came at perfect time

May 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson (19) high fives Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Aramis Garcia (35) against the Colorado Rockies during the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Anna Carrington-Imagn Images | Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

The Diamondbacks sorely needed length out of Nelson Sunday. With three more games remaining in a 13-game stretch without an off day, Arizona's bullpen had been worked hard for several days.

Even considering the Diamondbacks' recent ability to get length out of their starters, the relief group is taxed.

Juan Morillo threw a total of 50 pitches in back-to-back rough outings in games one and two of this series. Kevin Ginkel worked twice in the series. Ryan Thompson threw 31 pitches in 1.1 innings in game two. Brandon Pfaadt threw 1.2 innings in Saturday night's energetic win.

So, getting an effective, efficient outing from Nelson allowed the D-backs to use only Taylor Clarke to close down Sunday's game. Clarke needed only 11 pitches for a scoreless ninth, which sets Arizona's bullpen up well for the upcoming three-game set in San Francisco.

"[Nelson] just kept going out there making pitches," manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. "We really relied on him in a situation where we have been using guys in the bullpen for him to just kind of take charge and say, 'I got you guys' and we only used one reliever today. It was perfect for us, getting ready to get up to San Francisco and hopefully get another great outing from some starting pitching."

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