SAN FRANCISCO – Blake Snell, the San Francisco Giants starter and reigning National League Cy Young Award and Pitcher of the Month, lasted one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Snell threw 42 pitches to start the game, but a throwing error and devastating run scoring allowed him to get his third strike even though the bases were loaded and he had two outs and remained on the mound.
Jake McCarthy missed a fastball, but the ball bounced off the palm of catcher Patrick Bailey. Bailey didn’t immediately see where the ball landed, giving the speedy McCarthy time to get to first base and extend the inning.
Snell threw four more pitches to escape the precarious situation after allowing only two runs, one of which was earned.
Chaos in the first inning! pic.twitter.com/ymXdu7kbkG
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) 5 September 2024
It was immediately unclear whether Snell had to leave the field because of illness or simply because he had thrown so many pitches in one inning.
San Francisco’s three starters threw a total of 6.2 innings in three games in this series, with Kyle Harrison lasting 2.2 and Hayden Birdsong lasting 3.0.
Snell had not thrown an inning or less in any start since 2021. In his last nine games, he had thrown eight good starts with a 1.41 ERA over that span.
Manager Torey Lovullo said before the game that a successful day against Snell would be to limit the pursuit of his breaking ball and make him work early.
“We got some at-bats and got him down, he’s out of the game early and we have their bullpen to fall back on,” Lovullo said of what would be an achievement. “It’s not going to be an easy task either, the bullpen is very good, but Blake Snell is in a good position right now. We just have to be ready and be persistent.”
The Giants’ defense has been questionable throughout the series, especially from their middle linebackers. San Francisco made three errors in an 8-7 win over Arizona on Tuesday.
Follow the rest of the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
