April 19 (UPI) — Ryne Nelson took an 87-mph liner off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski to his pitching arm, forcing him to leave in the second inning of a 5-0 Arizona Diamondbacks loss to the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco.
The incident occurred Thursday night at Oracle Park. The Diamondbacks said Nelson sustained a right elbow contusion and an X-ray on the area was negative.
“It’s a little stiff right now,” Nelson told reporters. “Yeah, it doesn’t feel too great, got hit right in the sweet spot, right on the elbow.
“So we just want to see how it feels in the morning, give it some rest. We’ll know more [Friday].”
Nelson allowed a hit to Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee in his first exchange of the night. Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. followed by grounding into a double play. Designated hitter Jorge Soler lined out in the next at-bat, ending the first inning.
Giants starter Logan Webb, who retired 19 consecutive batters after allowing hits to the first two batters he faced, retired the Diamondbacks in order in the top of the second.
Nelson forced groundouts from left fielder Michael Conforto and third baseman Matt Chapman to start the bottom of the second. Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada followed with a single to center.
Yastrzemski settled in next. He worked the count full before Nelson lofted in an 83.5-mph changeup. The Giants right fielder sent the pitch screaming up the middle of the infield.
Nelson attempted to brace for the impact, but the ball slammed into his arm just after he completed his follow-through. He still managed to glove the ball off the ground before digging it out with his right hand and flipping it to first base to end the inning.
He then walked off the field, holding his arm limp and grimacing in pain as he reached the dugout. Nelson also held onto his wrist as he left the field.
Relief pitcher Logan Allen replaced Nelson in the bottom of the third. He went on to allow just three hits and one run over 4 2/3 innings but recorded his first loss this season.
Wade plated catcher Patrick Bailey with a sacrifice fly off Allen in his fourth exchange of the night. The Giants went ahead 3-0 on a two-run double from pinch hitter Wilmer Flores in the eighth.
Yastrzemski brought in the final runs of the game with a two-run single three at-bats later.
Lee was the only player in the game with multiple hits. He went 2 for 4 with a run scored for the Giants. Webb allowed just two hits and issued one walk and five strikeouts over seven innings to improve to 2-1 this season.
The Diamondbacks (9-11) will face the Giants (9-11) at 10:15 p.m. EDT Friday in San Francisco.
