Torey Lovullo: Alejandro Osuna's Hit-By-Pitch Looked 'Very Suspicious'

In the fifth inning of a 0-0 game, Arizona Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson threw a cutter inside to Texas Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna that hit him in the elbow guard.

One batter later, first baseman Jake Burger crushed a three-run homer. That free runner, courtesy of the hit-by-pitch, would ultimately be a critical run in what would be a brutal 6-5 loss as a result of closer Paul Sewald's first blown save of the year.

But to many watching, it appeared that Osuna leaned in to the pitch. It is, obviously, impossible to determine intent from afar, but a very strong argument could have been made that there may have been some intention there.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo was asked about that pitch in his postgame interview with D-backs.TV's Jody Jackson. Here's what he had to say:

Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo on Alejandro Osuna's 'Suspicious' HBP

Lovullo said the incident did stand out to him a bit in the moment.

"It's close," the manager said. "It looked very suspicious."

But home plate umpire Jansen Visconti did not see an issue with Osuna's process. Lovullo made sure to acknowledge the ultimate legitimacy of the call, and said he had a conversation with Visconti about it.

"The umpire had it. He was all over it. [I] had a couple-inning conversation with him about it and just appreciated his honesty. It's one of those things where if somebody continues to do it, they're going to watch it. And if he earns that reputation, they'll watch it.

"But it was a hit-by-pitch, and everything's clean," Lovullo said.

Ultimately, no D-backs fan could truly argue that hit-by-pitch was the deciding factor in the loss. The Diamondbacks went an abysmal 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position, stranding 13. Despite some ninth-inning heroics, Wednesday's game was more of the same offensive frustrations from Arizona.

The onus is also on Nelson for allowing a home run to the next batter, and on Sewald for not getting the job done in the ninth. Arizona did not earn a victory, when all was said and done.

"It's brutal," Lovullo said. "This game will rip your heart out. ... we started to build some innings. We just couldn't get that big hit, that big slug. They clipped us for that three-run home run, and that was the difference.

"You've got to give them credit for the Burger home run. It was... a type of ball that was hit in this stadium that throws me off, but it was real, and it put us down 3-0."

The hit-by-pitch is simply a footnote in a game in which the Diamondbacks squandered multiple opportunities — including the chance to get back to .500. Instead, they'll head to Coors Field to take on the Colorado Rockies Friday after an off day Thursday.

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