The games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have become the most exciting of recent seasons. Despite the fact that the reigning MLB champions have dominated the Friars in eight of the last 10 games played, that does not leave aside the excitement between the two teams during the nine innings or more. Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell addressed the San Diego Padres’ attempts to steal against him during Saturday’s game.
Snell pitched six scoreless innings against the Padres, shutting down the offense and giving the Dodgers’ bullpen some rest. However, the Padres made his start much easier. Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. were caught stealing during those first six innings, all three victims of the impressive arm of catcher Will Smith.
San Diego Padres sought to take advantage of their familiarity with Blake Snell
Snell pitched for the Padres from 2021 to 2023, and still has a close relationship with some members of the team’s coaching staff. “I was there for three years; I know this team very well and I still learned a lot throughout the game. I adapted once I understood what they were trying to do. At first, I was just feeling my way around,” said the Los Angeles pitcher, who realized that the Padres knew how he pitched and expected to get an advantage and decided to use an aggressive approach on the bases.
Snell told reporters after the game that for his next start against the Padres, he will adjust his pitching form to improve his baserunning. “I think it’s respect,” Snell told Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Nobody knows me better than Ruben Niebla, knowing what I can do pitching, outside of Kyle Snyder, the Rays’ pitching coach, they know what my pitching repertoire is like.”
Blake Snell’s quality does not diminish now in his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Blake Snell won the National League Cy Young Award in 2021, the second of his career, and apparently left the San Diego Padres organization on good terms. During his three seasons with the Padres, Snell played in 83 games, posting a 3.15 ERA and a 10.1 WAR. The second-best season of his career came as a Padre in 2023, when he posted a 6.5 WAR and a 2.25 ERA in 180 innings pitched.
“Now I’m facing them,” he said. “And I know they’re going to listen to the interview, so I won’t say much. But there are a lot of things I have to fix and polish.” This weekend the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, a feat they had not repeated with any other opponent since July 3 and since those dates the Los Angeles team had not managed to string together three consecutive victories. Now that the ghosts have been removed from Dave Roberts’ head, how far will the Dodgers go?
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