Blake Snell continued his rehab assignment on Tuesday night by making a second start for Single-A Ontario, this time taking the mound in a home game for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Minor League affiliate.
Snell struck out the side in the first inning and picked up three more strikeouts after allowing a leadoff double in the second. He then retired the three batters faced on just five pitches the third inning.
Snell threw 39 pitches, 29 for strikes, over his three scoreless innings.
Blake Snell’s reaction and what’s next
When Snell began the season on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder fatigue, the Dodgers estimated his return would not come until late May. While that remains the case, the 33-year-old was pleased to take another step forward.
“I feel good. Curveball, I’ve got to get that going. Got to get the fastball a little better,” Snell said after his start. “I’ll think about it on my drive, but that’s what I got so far.”
He built on two-plus innings in last week’s rehab start and had a different approach than first expected heading into Tuesday.
“I thought I was going to be more patient, but I was definitely a little more aggressive. I feel really good, so excited about it,” Snell said.
He otherwise generally treated the first two rehab starts as getting re-acclimated but now plans to make some adjustments heading into an expected outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.
“I would say the first two are patience, but I’ve been feeling really good. The first one I didn’t do too good, so I was pretty upset with that,” Snell said. And then when I got in the bullpen today I was telling myself I was going to be patient but then I felt really good and felt in control. I was a little more aggressive in getting results.
“I’ve really got to get the curveball going. When I get that pitch going it makes pitching a lot easier. This week we’re going to focus on that and I’m going to focus on commanding the fastball better. Going to face Triple-A hitters, I’ll need that a lot more, so that’s probably going to be my main focus.”
While the veteran starter is now poised to join a new Dodgers affiliate, he came away impressed by ONT Field.
“It’s unreal. It’s not a Low-A stadium. It’s Triple-A, at worst. It’s nice,” Snell said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously set a goal of building Snell up to five innings before activating him off the injured list. Given his current progression, that suggests at least two more rehab starts. Snell has been a supportive teammate to begin the year and is eager to return without rushing the process.
“I love rooting for them, I love their success. I definitely want to contribute,” he began. “I feel like I’m a big part of the team and I want to help badly. I can’t wait, but I want to be patient and make sure I do everything the right way. When it’s my time I’ll be ready.”
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