Pitchers who rake: Ryne Nelson’s first career hit delivers clutch RBI in win over Cubs

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson — yes, pitcher Ryne Nelson — delivered a key base hit in an eight-run, eighth inning rally that resulted in a 10-6 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday at Chase Field.

The Diamondbacks were out of options. They had given up the designated hitter spot earlier in the game with various substitutions and had no position players left.

The D-backs had stormed back from down 6-2 to take a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning and put two runners aboard with one out.

And with the pitchers’ spot up, the Diamondbacks turned to Nelson off the bench to face Cubs right-hander Eli Morgan.

“He’s been talking smack for two years now about what he’s able to do,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

And in a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Nelson delivered with a single up the middle.

RYNE NELSON IS BRINGING BACK PITCHERS WHO HIT!!! pic.twitter.com/gsOGsV8pGs

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 30, 2025

It seemed plausible the D-backs would have him bunt, since there was one out. That could have set up Alek Thomas with runners on second and third. Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez executed a double steal, however, to change the outlook. 

The plan was never to bunt, it turns out.

“I didn’t want to ask him to bunt,” Lovullo said. “He hasn’t bunted in probably three, four years.”

So with the green light, Nelson punched a chopper past the infielders playing in on the grass to score Naylor. Suarez was thrown out at home, but Nelson advanced to second on the throw.

“Once it got to second and third, I was like, ‘Alright man, got a job to do now. It’s not just for fun anymore. There’s some runs to drive in,'” Nelson said. “Just tried to get the foot down and put the bat on the ball.”

It was his first MLB hit in his first MLB plate appearance. He hit in college at Oregon, but his last real at-bat was in 2018.

“But that never really went too well,” Nelson joked.

Ryne Nelson told Torey Lovullo he was going to hit a missile, but a bouncer up the middle worked out just fine. pic.twitter.com/1CuWv7T3Zh

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 31, 2025

The last Diamondbacks pitcher to record a hit was Zac Gallen on Oct. 2, 2021, the final season before the NL implemented the DH. Nelson became only the second Diamondbacks pitcher ever to record a pinch-hit RBI, as Micah Owings did so back in 2008.

Thomas rewarded Nelson’s hustle with a base hit that scored the pitcher and extended the lead.

“That was hilarious,” Thomas said. “He’s been saying that he raked in high school and a little bit in college. I guess he was a shortstop at Oregon, so it was really cool to see him do that.”

“That was great,” starter Eduardo Rodriguez said. “I had like 30 at-bats myself, and I had like 25 strikeouts … so it’s great to see him go out and do that.”

Lovullo said Nelson was all smiles back in the dugout, particularly with his read and slide. Nelson said he doesn’t remember the last time his pants got dirty during a game. 

Diamondbacks in familiar situation

Sunday’s situation was reminiscent of last year when the Diamondbacks had to sacrifice the DH spot against the New York Yankees after Geraldo Perdomo suffered an injury. It was almost a year ago to the date (April 3).

Scott McGough had to hit with the bases loaded and two outs, down a run with the game on the line in the 11th inning. He struck out after poking a foul ball that could have been dangerous. It sparked an internal debate in the clubhouse about who among the pitchers would have the best chance filling in for a position player.

“When McGough got the at-bat last year, Torey came up to me and he was like, ‘What do you think would have happened if you would have got that at-bat?'” Nelson said. “I was like, ‘I would have hit a missile somewhere.'”

“He’s been assuring me since the McGough at-bat against the Yankees last year that he would do a better job,” Lovullo said. “And I could tell by the first couple takes that he was going to be just fine. … He was a shortstop for the University of Oregon. That’s a quality D1 program. So he’s able to put the barrel on the baseball. It didn’t surprise me.”

Nelson has probably secured the role as emergency pinch hitter moving forward, but even he admitted that it hopefully won’t come to that again. 

Of course, Ryne Nelson gets the ball for career hit #1 pic.twitter.com/IMo16Hk0ya

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 30, 2025

How did the Diamondbacks end up in the situation where Ryne Nelson had to hit?

Lovullo was looking for a spark offensively and started making moves in the sixth.

Garrett Hampson started at second base to get Ketel Marte off his feet with Marte at DH. In the sixth inning, Lovullo pinch hit Pavin Smith for Hampson, and Smith doubled.

That forced him to play Marte at second base since he was the only infield option, so he had to forgo the DH.

Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Jake McCarthy all came off the bench, so there were no position player options when Justin Martinez’s spot in the order came up. Nelson became the go-to option there.

“I knew I was really rolling the dice there, pinch hitting and inserting people the way I did, but we were just flat,” Lovullo said.

“I was looking for anything and Pavin got the big hit. So it did work out, but at the end of it, I told Nelly two innings before, ‘Hey, I’m projecting you to hit in the ninth, most likely the 10th inning. Why don’t you come on down here, take some swings.'”

Lovullo called it a great team moment.

"He's been talking smack for two years now."

Torey Lovullo breaks down the events that led to Ryne Nelson grabbing a bat in Sunday's win over the Cubs. pic.twitter.com/gfNT7wOfcZ

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 31, 2025

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