Blake Snell’s latest rehab outing did not go the way the Dodgers wanted, even if it still moved him one step closer to returning to the major league rotation.
Working for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday night against the Salt Lake Bees, the Angels affiliate, Snell got through 3 2/3 innings in what was his fourth and potentially final minor league rehab start. The Dodgers had hoped to see him stretch all the way to five innings, but the left-hander was forced into a shorter, much rougher night.
Snell was tagged for a leadoff home run and finished the outing having surrendered two long balls. He also issued four walks, pushing his pitch count to 73 before his evening ended.
That was a sharp contrast from the first three starts of the assignment. Coming into Tuesday, Snell had been in much better command, walking just one of the 29 batters he faced across those outings. That lone free pass came on July 18 for Oklahoma City in Tacoma.
The trouble started almost immediately. Just four pitches into the game, after Kyren Paris opened with the leadoff homer, Snell had a problem with the landing spot for his front foot on the mound. The grounds crew came out to fix the dirt, and after that he did not seem to have any further issues with his delivery, though the walks kept piling up.
A 27-pitch second inning made it even harder for Snell to work deep into the game. He finished with three strikeouts, and two of them came in the fourth, which ended up being his final inning of work.
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