Pitchers can still hit: Ryne Nelson has surprising RBI single during Diamondbacks' winning rally

PHOENIX (AP) — Ryne Nelson had dirt on his uniform pants, a skinned knee from sliding and an ear-to-ear grin.

It was quite a day for the Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher — and it came at the plate.

Nelson hit a bouncing ball through the infield for an RBI single in the middle of the D-backs' eight-run eighth inning in a 10-6 comeback win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. It was the pitcher's first plate appearance, hit and RBI of his big league career.

Nelson — who was a college shortstop at Oregon before becoming a full-time pitcher — had been in manager Torey Lovullo's ear for the better part of two years saying he would get a hit if they ever needed him at the plate.

Sure enough, he delivered.

“I told him I was going to hit a missile somewhere,” Nelson said. “But we’ll take that.”

Nelson's at-bat was needed because Lovullo had already used all four of his position players on the bench. The 27-year-old played at Oregon in the late 2010s, but converted to full-time pitching after hitting just .171 during his sophomore season. He hadn't taken a live at-bat since 2018.

Now in the big leagues, he's batting a cool 1.000.

The Diamondbacks were leading 7-6 and had runners on first and second when Nelson came to the plate in the eighth. Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez then executed a perfect double steal to put two runners in scoring position.

“Once they got to second and third, I was like, ‘All right, I kind of have a job to do now,’” Nelson said. “It’s not just for fun anymore. There are some runs to drive in, so I just tried to get the foot down and the bat on the ball.”

Nelson hit a 91.4 mph fastball from Eli Morgan up the middle through the Cubs' drawn-in infield for a clean base hit and then took second on the throw home. The pitcher then did the team's basketball-themed celebration at second base — acting as if he was shooting a jump shot — which drew huge cheers from a giddy D-backs dugout.

“Everyone was super happy for me,” Nelson said. “It was awesome — smacking my helmet as I walked down the dugout.”

Major League Baseball switched to the universal designated hitter in both the American League and National League in 2022, meaning pitchers almost never get to hit unless there's a situation like Sunday.

Nelson enjoyed it and already had the ball from the hit in a case in his locker, but he doesn't expect it to become common.

“I'll leave that to the guys who are really good at it,” Nelson said. “I'll be ready if they need me, but hopefully it doesn't happen too often."

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