PHOENIX -- It was the sixth inning Sunday and Torey Lovullo had a decision to make. His team was, in his words, “flatlining” at the time offensively and needed a spark. The Diamondbacks' manager looked over his options and sent Pavin Smith up to hit for second baseman Garrett Hampson.
That meant that Ketel Marte, who was the DH, was going to have to go play defense in the seventh and that Arizona would have to insert a pitcher into that spot of the lineup. As he ran down his list of available players, Lovullo realized that he was going to need one of his pitchers to pinch-hit late in the game.
The last time a full-time pitcher recorded a hit in a Major League game had been Zack Greinke in Game 4 of the 2021 World Series, before the universal designated hitter was implemented. That also happened to be in a pinch-hitting opportunity.
Lovullo called down to the bullpen for reliever Ryne Nelson.
“I’m projecting you to hit in the ninth, most likely the 10th inning, so why don’t you come on down here and take some swings,” Lovullo told Nelson.
For almost two years now, Nelson, who played shortstop for two seasons at the University of Oregon, has been telling Lovullo that he could hit if needed. Last year, when Lovullo turned to fellow reliever Scott McGough to pinch-hit in a similar situation and McGough struck out, the manager asked Nelson what he would have done in that situation.
“I would’ve hit a missile somewhere,” Nelson replied.
When Nelson stepped to the plate on Sunday, the Diamondbacks were in the midst of an epic inning that would see them send 12 men to the plate and score eight runs to turn a 6-2 deficit into a 10-6 win.
Eugenio Suarez was on first, Josh Naylor was on second and there was one out. Despite the fact that Nelson hadn’t hit in a game since college in 2018, Lovullo did not ask him to bunt.
“I don’t care if you make an out,” Lovullo told him. “Just go up there, get your hands up in the middle of the ring and duke it out. Don’t take a strike, go up there and let it eat.”
Before Nelson could let it eat, though, Naylor and Suarez pulled off a double steal to put runners at second and third. That meant the Cubs had to bring the infield in to try and cut the run down at the plate.
“Once they got to second and third, I was like, ‘All right, man, I kind of have 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 my foot down and put the bat on the ball.”
Nelson didn’t exactly hit a missile -- it was an 89.8 mph grounder to the shortstop side of second base -- but with the infield in, it easily got by Dansby Swanson into center. Naylor scored from third, though Suarez was thrown out at the plate by Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Nelson showed good instincts on the bases and read that the throw home was not going to be cut off, so he advanced to second with his first slide since 2018. He got up and pantomimed a jump shot, which he’s seen Arizona hitters do this year after hits.
“I figured I'd take an extra base, get into scoring position,” Nelson said. “I’ve [now] got a raspberry on my knee. I realized I had dirt on my pants for the first time in a long time, so that was awesome.”
It was a great moment for Nelson's teammates, who celebrated with him in the dugout after he came around to score two pitches later on Alek Thomas' single to right-center.
It was some much-needed fun for a Diamondbacks team that had lost two of their first three games, and along the way had committed some uncharacteristically sloppy plays. Lovullo, who is a stickler for fundamentals, said he didn’t sleep much Saturday night as a result of it all.
He will likely sleep soundly Sunday night after the team arrives in New York, where it will open a three-game series against the Yankees on Tuesday.
“Those guys are in there celebrating right now,” Lovullo said. “These are the push type of games you're looking for -- a push moment, a push situation, where the next thing you know, you get on an airplane, head east and you have good thoughts.”