Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitcher Blake Snell had a Cy Young-like performance on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies … literally.
Snell pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out 12.
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Over his last two starts, Snell has now struck out at least 11 batters while allowing two or fewer hits, two or fewer walks, zero runs and zero extra-base hits.
The only other pitcher to do that in the modern era in MLB history? Cy Young back in 1905, per OptaSTATS.
What Did Blake Snell Say to Dave Roberts to Stay in Game?
Snell cruised through the first six innings before getting into some trouble in the seventh. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, he walked the following two, bringing the tying run up to the plate.
Manager Dave Roberts started walking out of the dugout to potentially take Snell, who was at 107 pitches, out of the game.
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“You know what, in that situation, I was actually 50/50,” Roberts said after the game regarding whether or not he was going to take Snell out. “Obviously, 99.9 percent of the time, I’ve got my decision made. But in that moment, I was kind of up in the air.”
Snell already had his mind made up.
“Please,” Snell said he told Roberts. “Keep me in, I got it.”
After a brief conversation, Roberts jogged back to the dugout. Five pitches later, Snell had his 12th strikeout of the night in what was one of the best pitching performances of the season.
“It meant a lot that he trusted me,” Snell said. “I don’t like the bullpen finishing my innings. I’m very adamant about that. I don’t want them in that situation. I put myself in this, I can pitch my way out of it.”
Snell did just that, and joined some impressive company in the process.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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