Blake Snell is sharp in Dodgers return, but Rays get the win

Tampa, Florida – Blake Snell almost had a flawless return from the injured list on Saturday afternoon.

If only the Rays of Tampa Bay did not have a slugger Yandy Díaz, or an eccentric right field wall in their temporary house in Steinbrenner Field.

Make his first departure since the second week of the season, when he fell with a shoulder injury that put it aside, Snell largely looked like the AS that the Dodgers thought they were getting when they signed it for a $ 182 million contract during the offseason.

During an outing of five rounds which included eight stick withdrawals, no walks and a whole bunch of swings agitated by the Rays, the veteran left -handed enlightened its award -winning stuff of Cy Young and an attractive potential at the end of the season for this year.

However, during the defeat of the 4-0 Dodgers against the Rays, Snell granted three points on a pair of long bullets in Díaz – which took advantage of the short stadium in the right field.

“I thought that to be quite frank, he was the victim of this stadium,” said manager Dave Roberts. “There were a few balls of flies on the right on the ground that turned out. … Unfortunately, I had a little bad luck.”

After the permanent house of the Rays, Tropicana Field near Saint Petersburg, shked his canvas roof during the Hurricane Milton this winter, the club moved to Steinbrenner Field for this season; Using the New Yankees New Yankees outdoor spring park, based in Tampa, for its home schedule.

Given that the 10,000 -seat location was modeled after the Yankee Stadium in New York, its decisive characteristic is a short straight wall (similar to that of the Bronx) which measures only 314 feet on the line – eight feet shorter than the dimensions of the tropicana field.

At the bottom of the first round, Díaz took full advantage of it, Golf a 3-1 quick ball in the other direction for a solo home run. According to the MLB Statcast system, the ball has only traveled 326 feet and would have remained at stake in each of the 29 other stadiums in the league. But not here, and especially not by a suffocating summer afternoon with a temperature at the first step of 91 degrees.

“I was surprised,” said Roberts looking at the Díaz Land ball in the first row of seats.

“They took advantage of the field,” added the right field player Teoscar Hernández.

Indeed, Díaz repeated the act two rounds later; By slamming the groove, Snell had settled after retiring seven of the following eight strikers, including five on stick withdrawals.

On a quick ball 1-1 which was in the area, Díaz again launched one on the opposite ground, hitting a two-point explosion on a 341-foot fly ball which would have been a circuit in only two other parks (Yankee Stadium and Daikin Park in Houston).

“The first circuit in Yandy was not a good pitch,” said Snell. “On the second circuit, I thought it was a very good pitch for him, and it was. Just a good result for him.”

However, overall, Snell offered a lot of promises in his return to action on Saturday.

First and foremost, he filled the typing area, eliminating his habit of nibble on the plate by launching 57 strikes in 86 throws.

“I was in the area more than I thought,” he said. “You just try to feel it again, so I like it.”

And, in another positive development, many of these strikes were Swing-And-Miss variety.

Snell has accumulated 19 puffs in total, tied to the third best by a Dodgers launcher in a match this season. Seven came on 12 swings in total against its change, a key gear that has not shown no signs of rust after its laying down four months. Five others were gracked with her cursor, the rays coming empty on the five swings against her.

“I was in the area, I was confident, I knew what I wanted to do,” said Snell. “Overall, start back, emotions, there are a lot of things with which I take care of improving. … But certainly something to rely, learn.”

Overall, after all, the main priorities of dodgers for Snell are: 1) stay healthy; 2) Pitch better than him at the start of the season, when his embarrassing shoulder contributed to two disappointing outings that spoiled the start of his Dodgers career.

Yandy Díaz de Tampa Bay looks at his home run solo from the Blake Snell Dodgers launcher during the first round on Saturday.

(Chris O’Meara / Associated Press)

In the section this season, the greatest force of the Dodgers could be their rotation. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is in the Cy Young Award conversation. Tyler Glasnow has improved since his return on his own shoulder injury. Shohei Ohtani quickly rediscovered his premium stuff that came out of a second Tommy John procedure in a career. And even Clayton Kershaw was productive during his 18th season.

The biggest lambe pin, however, is probably Snell – that the Dodgers have targeted this offseason in the hope of avoiding the tightrope that they walked last October, when their rotation ravaged by injuries was almost completely exhausted at the start of the after -season.

“Last year, we found a way to do it, without having that [rotation depth]”Said Roberts.” But having healthy beginners, launching the way they are capable, in fact a better quality of life for everyone. »»

While the Dodgers had succeeded in the absence of SNELL, now a narrow advance in the West National League despite another extended pitch section by patchwork, Roberts admitted having missed his “presence” in the first two thirds of the season.

And after watching from afar how Snell finished last year – when he rebounded from another prolonged passage at the start of the season with the Giants of San Francisco by displaying an MPM of 1.23 in his last 12 departures, including his first boost exactly a year ago, Roberts, the hope that the 32 -year -old could mount a similar “refining”.

“It is really focused,” said Roberts. “I love it where his head is.”

The results of Saturday might not have been enough to compensate for the quiet day of the Dodgers on the plate – their range managing only six strokes of sure and wasted its best opportunity to come together on the dual game of Hernández at the top of the sixth.

But this nevertheless supported the hopes of the potential of the team’s end of the team, offering a long -awaited overview of the type of domination that Snell could provide to the Dodgers to defend their World Series championship.

“I thought Blake launched baseball very well today,” said Roberts. “In a way, seeing him there, in competition, making land, it just makes you feel better in the future.”