Nelson ready to 'knuckle' down for Phillies

TORONTO -- The Phillies have not had a pitcher throw a knuckleball in a game since at least 2008, which is as far back as pitching tracking data goes.

Unofficially, the last one might have been Dennis Springer in 1995.

Nick Nelson could be the next. The Phillies on Wednesday selected Nelson’s contract from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He replaces Tyler Phillips, who was optioned to Triple-A after allowing six runs in two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday night’s 10-9 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. To make room for Nelson on the 40-man roster, Michael Rucker was designated for assignment.

Nelson has thrown 58 tracked knuckleballs this season in Triple-A, according to Statcast.

“I’ve always been able to throw one,” Nelson said on Wednesday afternoon. “I learned how to throw it in high school. It was a mess-around pitch, but it’s good. I told [pitching coach] Caleb [Cotham] and everybody that I have one. Then they asked me what I thought about throwing it in a game. I thought they were messing around at the beginning, right?”

But they were serious. IronPigs pitching coach Ryan Buchter asked Nelson if he would want to throw a few knuckleballs off a mound if he got the OK.

Nelson agreed, got the OK, "and I brought it to the game.”

He has been throwing the pitch since late June.

“It’s fun throwing it,” he said. “It’s fun seeing the hitter’s reactions. They’re kind of like, ‘What the [heck] was that?’ I had some hitters stand in before I brought it into the game. They said even if they can tell what it is, it doesn’t matter.”

Nelson is 2-5 with a 6.30 ERA in 31 appearances this season with the IronPigs, with a 0.96 ERA in his last five. He has a 5.40 ERA in three appearances with the Phillies.