Nick Nelson is back with the Phillies, and he brings a new knuckleball with him

TORONTO — When right-handed reliever Nick Nelson arrived in Toronto on Wednesday afternoon, Brian Kaplan approached him with a question. For the last few years, Nelson would throw a knuckleball when he played catch. But since June, he’s been throwing it in minor league games.

Kaplan asked if he would throw it in the big leagues.

“I said, ‘Sure, why not?’” Nelson said.

Now, the reliever has an opportunity. On Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies recalled him from triple-A Lehigh Valley and sent down pitcher Tyler Phillips. People are curious to see what the knuckleball looks like in action.

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“I want to see it,” said manager Rob Thomson. “They got that guy out in San Diego who does the same thing, [Matt] Waldron. So it’s a different pitch; people don’t see it anymore. So I’d like to him throw it, see how well he does with it.”

Nelson was designated for assignment on Aug. 11 and outrighted to Lehigh Valley on Aug. 13. He’s posted a 5.40 ERA in three big league games this season and a 6.30 ERA in 31 games at Lehigh Valley with 39 strikeouts and 25 walks.

Those numbers don’t jump off the page at first glance, but they’ve improved lately. Since he returned to triple A, Nelson has a 0.96 ERA (9⅓ innings). He credits the knuckleball with helping him keep hitters off balance.

IronPigs pitching coach Ryan Buchter encouraged Nelson to begin throwing it in June.

“I borderline thought he was messing around, to be honest with you,” Nelson said. “I was really shocked when he asked me what my thoughts were on throwing it in a game. But I was all for it.”

It’s not a pitch he throws frequently, which helps make it effective. The speed difference between the knuckleball (79-81 mph), his four-seam fastball (94 mph), and his sinker (93 mph) help, too.

“I think having velocity separation is more important now than it ever has been,” said Kaplan, the Phillies’ assistant pitching coach/director of pitching development. “You see that with some of Ranger [Suárez]’s curveballs. You see it just in general across the league.

“It’s hard to be on 99 mph-plus but also be prepared for 75 mph. So I think that gap is helpful. And you throw in the unpredictability of the movement and that helps, too.”

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The knuckleball is so unpredictable that even the pitcher doesn’t really know where it’s going.

“They just set it in motion toward the plate, and it kind of makes its mind up toward the way there,” Kaplan said. “I think the challenging part is figuring out how to use it, when to use it, and how to kind of control it. But he’s continued to work at it. There’s been days where it hasn’t been great and days where it’s been good, but he’s still excited about it.”

It could be something, and it could be nothing, but the Phillies are curious. At minimum, it should allow for some entertaining reactions.

“I don’t remember who it was, but I threw one to a lefty, and he kind of turned to the dugout and was like, ‘What was that?’” Nelson said with a grin. “I guess it wasn’t in the report yet.”

On Saturday night, after going 0-for-3 with a walk against Atlanta, Kyle Schwarber stayed late in the batting cages with the Phillies’ hitting coaches. The DH is in his 10th big league season, but this year, he’s encountered a new challenge: righties.

It’s an odd challenge, given how much success he’s had against that group in the past. But the discrepancy is real: Schwarber entered Tuesday’s game hitting .193 against right-handed pitching and .315 against lefties. He hadn’t hit a home run against either since Aug. 14.

He wanted to address it, so Schwarber and assistant coach Rafael Peña did some drills from the right side. Hitting coach Kevin Long encouraged his pupil to trust himself. His ability to hit righties did not evaporate in a single season. But that doesn’t mean this season has been easy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said this in my career — where, ‘Oh, you’re way better against one side vs. the other,’” Schwarber said. “And it’s frustrating. You pride yourself on being a hitter. And it doesn’t really matter what hand it is, but when it gets to that extent … you’re just like, ‘Why is it so glaring?’”

Schwarber left the batting cage feeling better than he did when he arrived. And on Tuesday night in a 10-9 win over the Blue Jays, all of that work came together.

He hit a leadoff home run off starter Chris Bassitt in the first — a right-hander. He hit a double off of Bassitt in the third and another home run off of Bassitt in the fourth. He added an RBI single off of southpaw Genesis Cabrera in the seventh, and capped his night with a three-run home run off of righty Chad Green in the ninth.

According to Phillies PR, there are only two players in franchise history who have recorded five hits and three home runs in the same game. One is Schwarber, and the other is Mike Schmidt.

On top of that, he homered to lead off Tuesday’s game.

Schwarber does not love to wax poetic about his accomplishments. He takes pride in the work behind the results, and for that reason, Tuesday was particularly gratifying.

“You’re putting yourself in a good position to fire, and when you’re doing that, and you’re on time, it allows my best strength — which is my eyes — to work for me,” Schwarber said. “And I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve been able to do.”

The key will be consistency. Schwarber said that he’s had weeks where he feels like he’s made progress against righties, only to scuffle later on. But going 5-for-6 with three home runs was as good a start as anyone could ask for.

“Unbelievable,” manager Rob Thomson said of his DH.

Alec Bohm, who has now missed five straight games with left hand soreness, did some defensive work on the field on Wednesday. He took dry swings (swings without making contact with the ball) on Tuesday … Thomson said there isn’t a concrete plan for how the Phillies will handle the No. 5 spot in the pitching rotation after Phillips was sent down. A bullpen game is an option but unlikely.

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