Snell ready to turn the page from ‘weird’ one-inning game to Giants win

Snell ready to turn the page in ‘weird’ one-inning game in Giants win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Blake Snell knew his afternoon was over even as he stared down his final batter of the afternoon. After watching his pitch count climb to 42 in the first inning of the Giants’ 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, Snell saw no reason to continue his shift on the mound.

The 2023 NL Cy Young Award winner knew better. He had thrown a 40-pitch inning against the Seattle Mariners earlier this season and returned for another inning, but was exhausted and couldn’t last much longer.

That made the decision to quit pretty easy.

“Forty-two (pitches) is too many,” Snell said after the game. “The Seattle game taught me that. I went out again, but it was kind of stupid. Even the last (Arizona) batter knew that was going to be it. It’s not smart to go out again. I’ve done it before, but I never felt good after it.

“It’s just a big risk and not that big a reward.”

That pretty much sums up Snell’s first season with the Giants. San Francisco’s most prized offseason acquisition who would pair with ace Logan Webb to form a dominant 1-2 pitching punch, Snell’s season started off slow and patchy and has been mostly up and down since.

The highlight was Snell’s first career no-hitter, a gem against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2 that seemed to signal he had rediscovered his dominant rhythm on the mound. But the 31-year-old left-handed pitcher has recorded just one win in six starts since then.

Thursday’s dismal game against the Diamondbacks brought Snell’s season to a new low. It was the first time since 2021 that he lasted only one inning, and it was the most pitches Snell threw in an inning since he needed 43 to get out of the fourth inning against Cleveland on Aug. 24, 2022.

Snell didn’t get much help from his teammates either. He gave up just one hit, but the Giants made an error behind him, and catcher Patrick Bailey let a third strike slip by for a wild pitch that scored a run.

“I just threw a lot of pitches,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “We didn’t play very good defense behind him. It was a little bit of a combination. Things like that tend to get out of hand in the first inning.”

San Francisco’s bullpen saved the day with a stellar performance from five relievers, who combined to hold the Diamondbacks in check over the final eight innings.

Although Snell was frustrated about his short day, he didn’t seem overly concerned about it. As he put it, most of the damage he sustained in the inning was self-inflicted.

“It’s not like they were taking shit on me, it’s more like, ‘Are you tipping (pitches)? How’s your sequence?'” Snell explained. “I just got to get the fastball in the zone a little bit more. It’s hard to be so critical of myself right now. It wasn’t like the fourth inning. It was the first inning, we’re getting it going.

“I feel good, it felt good. It was just a weird inning. They didn’t hit the ball, deeper counts, but it’s all just fastball command, I guess. It’s frustrating because I obviously want to go six or seven. Not doing that doesn’t help the team.”

Snell’s timing could have been a little better. The brutal start came hours after the Giants announced a contract extension for Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman, who signed his name to a six-year, $151 million extension.

Signing Chapman for the foreseeable future was one of the top priorities for Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi.

The question now is whether Snell will receive similar treatment or whether San Francisco will let him play in the offseason so he can exercise an option in his contract to become a free agent.

Zaidi and Snell’s agent, Scott Boras, who also represents Chapman, had discussed the issue earlier in the day but gave no indication as to where it would go.

However, Snell made it clear that his focus is not on an extension. Not yet anyway.

“A deal would be nice, but I think the most important thing for me is to finish the season strong and focus on that,” Snell said. “If they want to talk about that, I’m always open to it. I’ve had a great time here. I know the fans will bug me about it, but it’s up to them. I’ve only got good things to say.”

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