Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell put together another strong start on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers. The 33-year-old veteran completed five innings of work, allowing just one run and striking out 10 hitters.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers offense was nonexistent once again and they fell 2-1 with Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle walking Los Angeles off in the ninth inning.
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Snell has dominated since returning from a three-month absence after undergoing surgery on his right elbow, yet he did have a bit of a hiccup in the third inning, allowing the first three baserunners to reach and a run to cross.
He escaped the jam, but in the middle of doing so Snell motioned to both catcher Ben Rortvedt and the home plate umpire during an at-bat.
After a brief discussion with the umpire, Snell jogged back to the Dodgers dugout and spent a minute in the tunnel, during which Tigers manager A.J. Hinch got an explanation for where Snell had gone.
He ran back onto the field moments later, greeted by boos from Tigers fans, tossed a warm-up pitch and continued. It was a bizarre sequence that even left the Dodgers broadcast confused about what had happened.
After the game, Snell provided some clarity on the situation. According to Maddie Lee of the LA Times, Snell was slipping on the mound and had to remove a bandaid covering a blister on his toe.
“Anytime I was pushing, I was slipping, and I thought if I kept doing that, I’m going to hit somebody because I had no clue where the ball was going,” Snell said.
It is unclear if the minor issue contributed to the rough start to that inning, but the damage is done. Regardless, the loss falls on the rest of the lineup for failing to produce in what is turning into an ugly road trip for Los Angeles.
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