The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park, but of greater concern was Blake Snell exiting his start due to left groin tightness.
The left-hander allowed one hit while collecting one strikeout in a scoreless first inning. His four-seam fastball and slider were both down velocity-wise, and he threw just 19 pitches in the outing.
Snell felt some discomfort while warming up before the game, but still tried to push through his start against the Reds.
“I felt good all day, and then the second-to-last pitch in the bullpen, I threw a slider, and I felt it grab,” Snell explained on SportsNet LA. “So I was like, ‘Alright, let’s see what we can do.’ Threw one more pitch and then went out to the dugout.
“I was warming up and still didn’t feel that great. I was just kind of talking with myself throughout that first inning. I was going to try to get through five, but I just knew I didn’t have a really good shot of doing that and remaining healthy.
“So after the first inning, I went down and talked with [manager Dave Roberts], [pitching coach Mark Prior], [head trainer Thomas Albert], and that’s what we thought was best. I’ll see where I’m at. Day-to-day, but I should be good.”
Snell has a long history of groin injuries and trusted his instinct to stop pitching before it escalated into a more serious issue.
“The groin, I’ve strained it four different times,” Snell noted. “I’m aware if I kept pitching I definitely would’ve strained it. For me to stop, that’s a first. Maybe I’m growing up. I don’t know, but that was definitely the right move. Next couple days we’ll see where I’m at and go from there, but I think I’ll be good.”
Snell’s shortened start against the Reds was just his eighth overall of the season. He was sidelined to begin the year and then went on the injured list after a rough debut against the Atlanta Braves.
That wound up leading to a lengthy recovery after Snell underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. He returned on Aug. 11 and has been part of the Dodgers’ rotation ever since without any apparent physical issue.
Will Blake Snell miss more time?
Snell is confident that he won’t need another IL stint for his groin injury and hopes to return to the mound before the end of the regular season.
“Yeah. The next couple days are really going to decide,” Snell said. “I would love to throw my next start. Either there or a couple days after, but I definitely want to try to get one more in the regular season.”
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