Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson Struggles in Blowout Loss vs Royals

Half of the Arizona Diamondbacks split squad lost a lopsided contest to the Kansas City Royals in Surprise on Monday by a score of 12-1.

While the offense certainly didn't look its best, the focus became the battle for the fifth starter's spot in the rotation. With Brandon Pfaadt's stellar outing on Sunday, it was up to fellow righty Ryne Nelson to deliver a counter-punch.

Unfortunately for Nelson, his results fell quite short of a compelling case on Monday. Over three innings and 55 pitches, Nelson was shelled for 11 hits. He gave up nine runs (eight earned) while only recording one strikeout, and his normally high 90s fastball averaged below 94 for the day.

Facing the top of the Royals' major league lineup, Nelson gave up a single and double to open the contest. Both runners were brought home on an RBI groundout and sac fly before the inning ended with a 2-0 Royals lead.

But the trouble only worsened from there for Nelson. He allowed a trio of singles in the second inning and a solo home run to superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the third to make the deficit 5-0. He came back out for the fourth inning but loaded the bases without recording an out, and a Jonathan India double cleared them to make it 8-0.

Nelson was pulled for righty Ryan Thompson, who allowed India to score (charged to Nelson's line), but then shut down the inning without further damage.

It's understandable to fall victim to some of the high-end Royals hitting talent, especially from Witt, but Nelson's day raises his Spring ERA to 8.18 after he opened Cactus League play with a string of successful outings.

Of course, raw results don't matter much in Spring, and manager Torey Lovullo has maintained that philosophy when explaining his decision-making process with regard to the rotation, but with Pfaadt's performance on Sunday, it is likely that Nelson's outing has put him at a disadvantage in the battle.

Arizona's offense, though full mostly of minor leaguers, was lackluster at best. The lone highlight was a line drive triple off the bat of Jake McCarthy, recording the hit off star closer Carlos Estevez. McCarthy scored on an RBI groundout by Ildemaro Vargas for Arizona's lone run.

The D-backs' bullpen, however, was excellent. Thompson's inherited runner didn't go against his line, as he struck out two in an appearance without an earned run.

Fireballing righties Justin Martinez and Drey Jameson both threw impressive scoreless innings. Martinez struck out two without allowing a baserunner, and Jameson hovered near the 100 MPH mark, allowing a walk but no base hits.

Lefty Kyle Backhus pitched a solid 1.2 innings with one run allowed, but had an inherited runner charged to his line by Gerardo Gutierrez after exiting, giving him two earned runs on the day.

The score of this contest is anything but a focal point. The real question becomes whether Nelson has done enough to stay in the rotation battle, or if these results become the deciding factor in relegating him to a bullpen role or Triple-A Reno.

The Diamondbacks have an off-day on Tuesday, but will be back in action on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields.

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