SAN FRANCISCO – Blake Snell, still searching for his first victory as a San Francisco Giant, stood in front of his locker after Monday’s 8-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and assessed his 0-3 start to the season.
Snell remained winless after he gave up four runs – three earned – in just four innings. The reigning National League Cy Young winner has yet to take a start past the fifth inning.
“Yeah, I feel strong, and I felt better, but I should be getting better results to help the team have easier wins,” Snell said.
The 31-year-old lefthander did not sign a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants until March 19, eight days before the end of spring training.
“The one thing I would say is that big league spring training, you need it,” Snell said. “I thought I did everything I could to be ready, and even after two weeks, I noticed how much better I was throwing the ball just being here every day.”
“You have to go to spring training, and I hope (other) teams see that,” Snell continued. “I didn’t face a big league hitter until my first game in the big leagues this year, and it’s tough.”
Snell started three games in April, then spent several weeks on the IL before rehabbing in the minor leagues. He went 3 1/3 innings in his return to the Giants last Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
Snell has an unsightly ERA of 10.42 this season, but briefly looked like the highly-touted arm the Giants expected him to be in the first two scoreless innings Monday when he struck out three and allowed just one hit.
But a miserable fourth inning, which saw him give up two runs and throw 35 pitches, was a frustratingly familiar sight for Giants manager Bob Melvin.
“He struck out seven, and he was getting some swings and misses,” Melvin said. “But they squared a couple of balls up, and it’s just frustrating he can’t get over the hump and cut his pitch count down.”
Snell downplayed the imminent birth of his first child, whose due date was last Monday, as a reason for his shaky form.
“I’m excited to have a kid and can’t wait, but when it’s time to pitch, it’s the only thing on my mind,” Snell said.
If there’s one reason for optimism, it is that Snell has shown to be a slow starter, even in his best seasons.
During his Cy Young campaign last year, Snell had a 5.48 ERA and an 0-4 record after 10 starts for the Padres. He finished the season 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA and an astounding 185 ERA+ and a 3.44 FIP,
“When you take a test early, you don’t really have anything to go off of, so it’s going to be a little harder,” Snell said. “Then when you have all of these starts and tests to go off of, where you say, ‘I’m going to do this, or I’m going to do this,’ then you learn from it.”