Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell hopes for even better results when he takes the mound against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays in the second contest of their three-game series on Saturday evening.
Snell returned from a four-month absence because of a left shoulder injury last Saturday and took the loss against the Tampa Bay Rays after surrendering three runs and five hits over five innings in the 4-0 defeat.
Snell (1-1, 3.21 ERA) said he felt more locked in mentally than he expected.
“I was confident, I knew what I wanted to do,” he said. “Curveball will get better. Changeup, I was happy with. Slider, I was happy with. Fastball command could get better. So it’s just things I’ve got to work on. But overall, first start back, emotions … it was a good start.”
From his vantage point, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also was pleased with how Snell pitched in his return.
“He made pitches that he needed to make but, unfortunately, got a little bit of bad luck,” Roberts said.
Snell got the Rays to swing and miss 19 times, including seven on his changeup.
“That was probably the most encouraging thing,” Roberts said. “I just thought overall – he’s probably going to say he didn’t have great command or there are things to work on, which there always is, but for the first one, I thought the secondary was good. I thought the fastball had life too.”
Snell is 4-4 in 15 career starts against Toronto with a 2.55 ERA.
The Dodgers won the series opener 5-1 on Friday night in a matchup of future Hall of Fame pitchers Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays.
Mookie Betts had a two-run homer and drove in three runs overall, showing signs he might be emerging from a season-long slump.
“You get to a point where you look to find confidence anywhere,” he said. “You look everywhere but within yourself. I’ve just been doing some deep diving. … It took some of that and seeing some (hits) fall.”
The Dodgers had lost 11 of the previous 12 games against the other five division leaders.
Toronto collected 10 hits in the series opener on Friday, but could only push across one run.
The Blue Jays were coming off a sweep at the Colorado Rockies in which they racked up 45 runs and 63 hits.
Addison Barger went 5-for-12 with four RBIs in the Rockies series and he continued his hot bat in the series opener against the Dodgers, collecting two hits and driving in the only run.
The Blue Jays plan to start right-hander Chris Bassitt on Saturday.
Bassitt (11-5, 4.12) deserved better in his last start after allowing one run and one hit in six innings last Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. He left with a 2-1 lead, but the bullpen gave it up and the Blue Jays eventually lost in 11 innings, 7-4.
“You take your licks,” Bassitt said afterward. “It’s going to happen during the year.”
Bassitt is 1-3 in five career starts against the Dodgers with a 6.31 ERA.
-Field Level Media