Blake Snell was outstanding for the San Diego Padres on Friday night, and he managed it despite his fourth pitch abandoning him.
Snell threw seven one-hit innings against the New York Mets, striking out ten and walking only one. His fastball, slider, and curveball were all working perfectly, but the same couldn’t be said of his changeup. Snell threw only three of them during the entire start, none of which went for strikes.
Snell’s response? The changeup is currently being disciplined.
Snell's fastball/slider/curve: . His changeup? He threw 3, all balls.
“I got annoyed with my changeup. I put it in timeout. I literally told the changeup, you’re in timeout. We’re not talking. I’m going to meet with the changeup in two days. We’ll see how it wants to act.”
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) June 5, 2021
You know what they say about how left-handers can be an eccentric bunch. If it works, it works.
Snell has actually struggled by his standards this season, posting a 4.83 ERA so far. Friday’s outing was much more demonstrative of what he’s really capable of. If he can get his changeup right, results should follow. That said, based on what we know about how blunt Snell can be, that pitch is going to get a real tongue-lashing.
