The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t yet have their starting rotation fully healthy as Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching was delayed, but the group nevertheless is at its strongest point so far this season.
That’s due in large part to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both coming off the injured list last month, and the Dodgers’ trade for Tarik Skubal.
“Yeah, definitely excited about it,” Snell recently said about the Dodgers’ rotation. “It’s going to be a lot of good competition within the starting rotation, and I’m really excited about it. I mean, being able to watch some of the best pitchers in the game and learning from them, the mentality, the way they attack, having those conversations are very big.
“And yeah, I’m definitely grateful that we’re on the same team and a lot to learn.”
Plenty of pressure has fallen onto the shoulders of Snell and his fellow starters as the Dodgers’ offense remained in a slump over recent weeks. The feeling was similar to last October, when the rotation combined for historic results en route to the Dodgers winning a second consecutive World Series.
While the group certainly possesses the talent to repeat with a similar performance, manager Dave Roberts said he wants offense to lead the way for the Dodgers as they try to become the first National League team to a three-peat.
Even if Ohtani doesn’t make a return to pitching — which the Dodgers have not yet ruled out — their playoff rotation currently projects to feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Snell, Skubal and Glasnow.
Blake Snell still improving
Snell pitched six shutout innings in the series opener against the Washington Nationals but wasn’t satisfied with the outing.
“The fastball location is getting better. I got to move it around more, so I’m looking forward to do that,” Snell said on SportsNet LA. “Land curveballs a little more in the zone, and I just can’t be walking, guys that I know I can get out. Just got to get ahead, quit trying to be so perfect and just attack, get ahead.
“I’ll find myself being able to go deeper in the game. Going six is cool, and it’s a good starting point. I really want to go seven, eight, and I want to get to nine. So for me to do that, I got to locate the fastball more, throw more strikes, and get early contact for outs.
“So overall though, a lot of weak contact. So happy about that, but I can still execute a lot better.”
Despite his self-criticism, Snell has allowed one or fewer runs in all five starts since returning from the 60-day injured list. He additionally has completed six inning in four of the five outings.
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