Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell suddenly left the Wednesday, September 18th game against the Cincinnati Reds after one scoreless inning.
Snell looked fine coming off the mound after a scoreless frame, but the Dodgers then warmed up Blake Treinen in the bullpen, and manager Dave Roberts officially pulled the southpaw.
Blake Treinen came in to relieve Snell, and Dodgers reporter Kirsten Watson confirmed that Snell’s injury caused his early exit.
This couldn’t come at a worse time for the Dodgers, who will lean on their star-studded rotation, and Snell was pitching at an elite level before this concerning development.
Since returning from the IL after elbow surgery on August 11th, Snell has a 1.04 ERA through 34.2 innings.
In his first inning of work against the Reds, Snell struck out one batter, allowed one hit, and gave up a hard-hit single.
However, some serious red flags emerged. His fastball was 1.5 MPH below his season average, his curveball 0.7 MPH below, his changeup 0.3 MPH below, and his slider down the most, by 2.3 MPH, according to Statcast.
The Dodgers later announced that it was groin tightness.
What is Blake Snell’s history with groin injuries?
Snell has a long history of groin injuries. He had a left adductor strain in 2021, which cut his season short because it came in September.
Snell had another in April 2022, and then another in April 2024, both of which resulted in an absence of three weeks to a month.
Finally, he had one in June 2024 following an aggravation. This one led to a 15-day IL stint.
What does this injury mean for the Dodgers postseason
The Dodgers have two weeks until the season ends, and missing more time, like three to four weeks, may rule him out until the NLCS.
Hopefully, for the Dodgers, this is on the shorter side or a precautionary move.
LA needs Snell, along with Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow, to power them through the playoffs.
