Ryne Nelson, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. lead Diamondbacks to shutout win over Tigers
Jun 10, 2023, 12:41 PM | Updated: 2:31 pm
Ryne Nelson #19 of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws a pitch in the bottom of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 23, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Ryne Nelson pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a 418-foot, three-run home run to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-0 victory over the host Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
The win was Arizona’s fourth in a row and lifted the leaders of the National League West to a 39-25 record.
The Diamondbacks moved to three games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who play at the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
“We have the right pieces,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We have really good players on this team. Am I surprised? No.”
Nelson scattered four hits, struck out four and walked two before being removed with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Reliever Austin Adams got Zack Short to fly out to center field to end the inning.
“That’s huge,” Nelson said. “Feel really good with him coming in the game right there. I definitely wanted to go six, and maybe even more, but I made a couple mistakes and walked a couple guys.”
Gurriel’s blast came in the fifth inning and increased Arizona’s lead from 2-0 to 5-0.
Nick Ahmed chipped in a two-run homer in the second inning.
The Diamondbacks will go for the series sweep against the Tigers on Sunday and then will return home for a seven-game homestand against Philadelphia and Cleveland that begins Monday vs. the Phillies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
