Why Did D-backs Manager Pull Dominant Starter in Seventh Inning?

The Arizona Diamondbacks won a baseball game Monday night 4-2 over the San Francisco Giants. Ryne Nelson pitched into the seventh inning, and was pulled with two outs and two men on, and a 2-0 lead, giving way to reliever Juan Morillo.

Morillo allowed a two-run double on the first pitch he threw, and the boo birds, both at Chase Field and on social media were out, many calling for the manager's head. I personally questioned the move, as did most, but not all.

One esteemed writing colleague pointed out to me that Nelson had given up a lot of hard contact from the fifth inning on. That's true, as five of the last 10 batted balls versus Nelson we considered "hard hit" balls, over 95 MPH.

I've also learned to wait until I hear the explanation before making my own final judgement and analysis. It turns out it was a good thing I did before making my own proclamations.

As is often the case, there were extenuating circumstances that fans, and even pundits were not fully aware of it. Nelson has been dealing with soreness on the days after his outings, seemingly more than is usual. In fact he can be seen in the clubhouse after throwing bullpens and after games with a large ice pack wrapped around his arm. He was also hit by a comeback on the leg recently and has been dealing with the aftermath of that.

Nelson's usage pattern has been irregular, to say the least. He began the season in the bullpen as a long reliever, and made a spot start or two filling in for injured starters. Finally when Corbin Burnes went down with injury for good, Nelson was put in the rotation to stay. But he's been on a pitch count limits as he gets stretched out and also deals with the soreness.

He threw 88 pitches, and since Lovullo said he had already exceeded his limit, we can assume the number was 80-85. Checking his game log, that's the most pitches in a game he's thrown all season.

With the above context provided, the below two minute clip of both Lovullo and Nelson explaining the situation in their own words is something fans wishing to better understand should hear.