The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on the back of left-hander Blake Snell’s scoreless start. Snell kept the Pirates off the board for six innings, but didn’t sound too pleased with how his start went.
“I just got to be better,” Snell told Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA. “I need to get a first-pitch strike, land the offspeed.”
While Snell is critical of this start, he has been great for the Dodgers since coming off the injured list. Over his last three starts, he has allowed just two runs in 18 innings with 21 strikeouts. Against the Pirates, he struck out six and allowed just two hits, but he also walked three.
“I’ve seen their game plan against me; I should have adjusted quicker. I have a lot to work on still.”
Snell declined to elaborate on what he thought the Pirates’ plan might have been. But he’ll take the lessons learned into his next start and beyond.
Dodgers’ Blake Snell Makes Blunt Admission About Pirates StartGettyBlake Snell has given the Dodgers three straight quality starts since coming off the injured list. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)
If there was one nitpick of Blake Snell’s start against the Pirates, it was the walks and how they came to be.
All three walks came with two outs and no one on base. Snell had a chance to pitch clean innings in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, but walked the third hitter. Two of those walks came after full counts.
“There was a couple innings there, where I get two outs then full count, walk, full count, walk. It’s just not acceptable. I feel good, I know I can command the ball. Honestly, it’s just lazy. It’s me trying to get strikeouts instead of going, seven, eight, nine.”
The only clean inning the left-hander threw was in the sixth. That would be his last, as he was up after 94 pitches and battling constant traffic.
The Dodgers bullpen took care of the final three innings to complete the 4-0 shutout. Los Angeles won six straight after back-to-back sweeps of the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Snell took one big positive from his start against the Pirates. He felt good about his slider, especially to right-handed hitters. He said he was able to get on top of the pitch and present it more like a fastball to hitters. Snell induced five whiffs on eight swings against his slider.
For a pitcher who is as fastball-reliant as the Dodgers’ left-hander is, sitting at 48% on the season entering this start, that’s a big deal. His secondary pitches each carry a whiff rate of at least 48% of swings.
Dodgers Rotation Rounding Into ShapeGettyThe Dodgers boast one of the top rotations in MLB entering the postseason. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
If there is one takeaway from the Dodgers’ sweep of the Pirates, it’s how well their rotation performed. The trio of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tarik Skubal combined for five runs allowed over 19.1 innings, with 22 strikeouts.
The Dodgers are getting healthier with their rotation. Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to pitching within a week, and Tyler Glasnow is set to return from the injured list on August 25. The club will have some tough decisions with their postseason rotation, but Snell isn’t worried about that.
“It’s going to be a lot of good competition within the starting rotation,” said Snell. “I’m really excited about it. Being able to watch some of the best pitchers in the game, learn from them, the mentality, the way they attack. Having those conversations are very big and I’m very grateful that we’re on the same team.”
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