LOS ANGELES — It wasn’t the prettiest outing, however Blake Snell pushed by.
The 32-year-old left hander gave up 4 hits to the primary 5 batters he noticed Saturday evening however then retired 12 of the subsequent 13 Padres he confronted as he settled in to pitch six innings within the Dodgers’ 6-0 win at Dodger Stadium.
L.A. regained sole possession of first place within the NL West, shifting a recreation forward of the Padres, whereas additionally clinching the season sequence and the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Catcher Will Smith helped Snell discover his footing by throwing out three baserunners attempting to steal within the first two innings.
“Early on, I used to be simply form of feeling out the place I used to be at,” Snell mentioned. “That they had some good hits. Will held it down. Via two innings, he had three outs and I had three outs. So we had been competing. However that form of set the tone.”
As his outing wore on on Saturday, Snell stored adapting.
It was Snell’s first begin towards the Padres since he left them in free company after his second Cy Younger Award season, in 2023, and he was nicely conscious of their familiarity with him — and vice versa.
“I used to be there for 3 years; I do know this staff very well,” Snell mentioned. “However there was lots of stuff that I used to be studying simply all through the sport after which I form of settled in as soon as I understood what they had been attempting to do.”
Snell picked up on as many tells as he might — what pitches the Padres had been taking, which of them they had been swinging at. Their aggressiveness on the bases early jumped out at Snell. Three of the primary 4 outs recorded by the Dodgers got here by way of Smith’s arm.
The Dodgers took benefit of Padres starter Dylan Stop’s command points and raced out to a five-run lead within the first two innings, giving Snell some room for error.
From there, Snell took over for his second consecutive scoreless outing, coming off the heels of his five-inning 10-strikeout efficiency towards the Blue Jays Aug. 9.
After that begin, Snell pointed to his fastball command as one thing he needed to work on, and he had it happening Saturday. With the four-seamer making up the majority of his pitches, Snell drew six of his 15 whiffs on the heater. It additionally accounted for 5 referred to as strikes.
“The outcomes have been good, however there’s issues I must do higher,” Snell mentioned. “It could actually’t be this manner without end. If I am not environment friendly, dominating the zone, the shapes of pitches aren’t the place I need them. The outcomes are good, however I am chasing one thing totally different than that. So I obtained to get higher.”
Contemplating this was Snell’s fifth begin of the season, and his third since coming back from an prolonged keep on the injured listing with left shoulder irritation, that is nonetheless what he considers his first half. He’s nonetheless watching video games, breaking down hitters’ swings and studying them.
Solely in spite of everything that can he begin to really feel actually settled in.
“Early on you do not know,” Snell mentioned. “Individuals change their swings — they go to hitting coaches, they’re all adjusting. So you have to determine that out. However everybody, they’re who they’re. You alter and determine how one can get them out, what they’re weak at and likewise you assault their strengths too as a result of it is a thoughts recreation, too. So that you form of do each, however you have to know your spots.”
“It is good. It is huge,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “… I believe that in case you take a look at our ’pen, it’ll be six or seven guys which might be obtainable tomorrow. I be ok with all of them to forestall runs, and that begins with Clayton and what Blake did tonight.”
