Kyle Nelson spent Sunday evening with his mom and his older brother at their home in San Francisco. While they were chatting, his mom teased him, “This is the first time Kyle’s been in the city and he has a job.”
Nelson’s job is to be a left-handed reliever for the Arizona Diamondbacks during their three-game series with the San Francisco Giants that started Monday. But it’s weird, because Nelson — born and raised in San Francisco — is usually in the city to relax during the offseason. Being on the field at Oracle Park is even weirder, especially after Nelson spent his childhood rooting for his hometown team.
“I actually had like a moment last night when the game started, I sat down in the bullpen and for a quick moment, I felt like a fan,” Nelson said. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute! No! You’re here to do a job and you’re here to beat this team.’ There were a few moments yesterday where I had to check myself, because this is a unique experience.”
Growing up, Nelson would watch the Giants’ telecast almost every night and he could hear Jon Miller’s voice from anywhere in the house. Trips to Oracle Park were rare, but once, when he was 8, he got to sit just behind the visitors’ dugout.
“After the game, I ended up walking down to the dugout — they were playing against the Reds — and the manager gave me the lineup card,” Nelson said. “That was hung up in my room basically since then.”
Until he was 12 years old, when he wasn’t in school or watching the Giants, Nelson played Little League. Then he joined the travel-ball circuit, starting with the Treasure Island Pirates before moving to the NorCal travel team where he was noticed by college recruiters. In 2014, he graduated from Galileo High School and went to UC Santa Barbara
After three years with the Gauchos — with whom he had a 2.96 ERA and collected 188 strikeouts in 197 ⅔ innings as a reliever — Nelson was drafted in 2017 by Cleveland as the 462nd pick in the 15th round.
Nelson moved through the minor-league ranks quickly, making his major-league debut Sept. 10, 2020. He pitched two-thirds of an inning in a loss to the Royals.
An inauspicious season in 2021, which culminated in a 9.31 ERA, led to Nelson being designated for assignment. He was picked up off waivers by the Diamondbacks in November.
His struggles were caused by additions to his pitching mix, which Arizona pitching coach Brent Strom quickly got rid of. Nelson has relied on just two pitches this season: a slider he throws 64.8% of the time and a four-seam fastball he throws 35% of the time.
“Basically, we’re having him pitch to his strengths and not try to fool people,” bullpen coach Mike Fetters said. “Pitching to his strengths is all he needs to do because he’s that good at what he does best. Once he’s had confidence doing that, I think his career’s taking off.”
Nelson didn’t see the mound in the Diamondbacks’ 4-3 win over the Giants on Monday but would have chances to do so Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. What he’s looking forward to is having his family and friends watch him play.
“I think it’d just be a full-circle experience,” Nelson said. “I think what it would mean to my family, my friends and everyone else from the city that has followed me through my journey is what I’m looking forward to. It’s like a symbol of somebody who came from this public school system, from the inner city, can get there. It’s possible. What that symbolizes means more to me than actually standing out there.”
Kikue Higuchi is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kikue.higuchi@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kychiguchi
