Nelson's Rough Start: Arizona Diamondbacks Pitcher Faces Challenges

0:00It's April 3rd, I'm Cory with the story, and this is MLB News today, your AI-powered baseball briefing. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryan Nelson was their top starter after mid-2025, but his 2026 season is off to a rocky start. In his debut against the Dodgers, he gave a 4 earned runs and a tough inning. Then Thursday night at Chase Field, the braze hammered him for 7 runs. The only 2 were earned thanks to some defensive miscues. Nelson leaned on his fastball early, but it betrayed him with a couple quick runs. He lost command after that, missing the zone and allowing hard contact that his outfield barely snagged. The fifth inning blew up with back-to-back walks, a fielding error at 3rd and more free passes, loading the bases before he got yanked. Fans and analysts are buzzing, but it's just two games in, so no full panic yet. Still, Nelson rarely had back-to-back clunkers last year, and those hard-hit outs-9 balls over 100 miles per hour raise eyebrows.

1:00His velocity sat strong in 96-97 miles per hour, but results weren't there. Digging deeper, he's only allowed one hit that wasn't a homer this season, showing batters are sitting on that fastball. His cutter, slider, and curve snagged six whiffs, so mixing those more could fix it. He's bounced back from bad nights before, and with Merrill Kelly nearing a return, the rotation stays deep. Keep an eye on Nelson as he tweaks that arsenal. The D-backs need him locked in to push for another playoff run.