Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that pitcher Blake Snell is on track to make one final regular-season start on Saturday in San Francisco, easing concerns that surfaced after Snell left a game in Cincinnati with a groin injury less than a week earlier.
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, exited last week’s outing against the Reds after just one inning and 19 pitches, prompting worry given his injury history. Three times in the past five years, Snell has suffered groin injuries, and each time he missed at least three to four weeks of play — a timeline that would have jeopardized his availability for the postseason had this latest issue followed the same pattern.
But Snell said early on that this injury felt less serious than his previous groin problems. Over the weekend he resumed catch play and described his groin as an “8 out of 10.”
He advanced further on Tuesday, throwing a bullpen session ahead of the Dodgers’ three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Roberts said Snell is expected to throw one more bullpen session later this week before receiving final clearance to pitch Saturday in San Francisco.
The Dodgers had weighed shutting Snell down for the remainder of the regular season to give the 33-year-old left-hander extra rest before the playoffs begin. But team officials decided that plan risked too long a layoff, and Snell’s recent progress gave them enough confidence to schedule one more tune-up start before October.
If Snell comes through Saturday’s start without further setbacks, the Dodgers expect to enter the playoffs with their full projected rotation intact: Snell, Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.
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