Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson exits with bruised pitching elbow after getting hit by line drive

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson exited Thursday night’s start against the San Francisco Giants with a bruised pitching elbow after getting hit by a line drive in the second inning.

X-rays were negative.

“It’s a little stiff right now,” Nelson said after Arizona's 5-0 loss. “It doesn’t feel too great. Got hit right in the sweet spot, right on the elbow. So we’re just going to see how it feels tomorrow in the morning. Give it some rest and we’ll know more tomorrow.”

The ball left Mike Yastrzemski's bat at 87 mph. Nelson recovered to field the ball and throw out Yastrzemski at first base, ending the inning. But the pitcher grimaced and held his right forearm as he walked back to the dugout.

“He’s a really tough kid,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I saw what was going on underneath there and he was trying to grind it out. I made the decision that it was time to take him off the field. There was no way I was going to put him back out there.”

The 26-year-old Nelson threw 27 pitches, allowing two hits and no runs. He was replaced by left-hander Logan Allen, who allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings and took the loss.

Nelson entered 1-2 with a 5.27 ERA in three starts this year. He was 8-8 with a 5.31 ERA as a rookie last season.

“Definitely seeing that it wasn’t fractured was a positive,” Nelson said. “It doesn’t feel like I’m super lucky right now, but it definitely could’ve been worse.”

Added Lovullo: "We’re just going to continue to evaluate him over the next 24 hours and see how he is."

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