Blake Snell wanted this.
This stage.
This opponent.
By pitching against the Braves at Dodger Stadium instead of the Angels’ Class-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga, Snell was able to do more than build up his arm.
“It’s going to let you know where you’re at pretty quickly,” Snell said.
Most teams don’t have the luxury of having their players complete rehabilitation assignments at the major-league level, but the Dodgers aren’t most teams.
When Shohei Ohtani worked his way back as a pitcher from his second Tommy John surgery last year, he did so exclusively at the major-league level.
And when Tyler Glasnow was placed on the injured list with back spasms, the Dodgers asked Snell if he would like to slip back into the rotation rather than pitch in another minor league game.
“I said yes before they even asked,” Snell joked.
The result was somewhat predictable, as Snell was rocked for five runs (four earned) and six hits in three innings in his season debut, a 7-2 loss to the Braves on Saturday night.
But what did the Dodgers really lose?
Even after the come-down-to-earth defeat, the Dodgers remain in first place in the National League West, a game ahead of the Padres.
As frustrated as Snell was by the results, he said the experience was worthwhile.
“Learned a lot,” he said.
About how the strike zone might be smaller than it was last season. Or about how he should probably use his fastball more.
Like his team, Snell can afford to take the long view.
In Los Angeles, the baseball season really starts in October.
That reality was taken into consideration as Snell charted his recovery from the shoulder discomfort he experienced last season.
Describing many of his injuries in recent years as “inflammation-based,” the 33-year-old Snell said he hired a nutritionist with hopes of avoiding similar problems. He incorporated pilates into his training regimen.
The changes, coupled with the deliberate pace of his rehabilitation, contributed to him touching 98.1 mph with his fastball on Saturday night.
The average velocity of his fastball was 95.9 mph.
“I thought the stuff was good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I really did.”
Snell struck out five.
He generated 16 swings and misses.
“I like the way my body feels,” he said.
That marks a significant change from last season when Snell said he tried to pitch through his discomfort because he was in the first year of a five-year, $182-million deal with the Dodgers. Last year, Snell landed on the injured list in April and didn’t pitch again for four months.
Predictably, Snell wasn’t particularly sharp against the Braves, and his walks contributed to the run he allowed in the first inning, as well as the four he gave up in the second.
He didn’t allow many hard-hit balls, one of the few exceptions a two-run single that he allowed to Matt Olson in the second inning on an elevated slider.
The Dodgers went into the game thinking Snell could throw somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 pitches. By the end of the third inning, his pitch count was at 77.
Considering where he was in his ramp up, this was almost like a spring-training game for Snell, but he refused to use that as an excuse.
“I feel good,” Snell said. “Stuff’s good. I just gotta become a better pitcher, and do that quickly. I have a lot of confidence I can do that.”
Quickly is a relative term, of course.
If Snell was on, say, the Padres, his team would need him to be caught up in another week or two. With the Dodgers, he has almost five months to get himself right.