Padres News: Blake Snell Appreciates Relationship with Batterymate Gary Sanchez

Snell and Sanchez have been lighting it up in July.

Blake Snell has been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball in the last two months. In his previous 9 starts across June and July, Snell holds a very nice ERA of 0.69 while throwing over 1.5 strikeouts per inning.

Squatting across the diamond from Snell in each game during his elite run has been catcher Gary Sanchez. While the 30-year-old is not having a statistically impressive season, with a .193 batting average and an OPS of just .682, the catcher has been valuable in his defensive contributions.

Despite allowing only one run in Thursday night's game against the Blue Jays, Snell walked seven batters and let up five hits in the Padres' 4-0 loss.

Sanchez's defense helped prevent a subpar performance from Snell translate to the scoreboard. He blocked 12 breaking balls that bounced on the dirt during Snell's time on the mound and made key throws to get runners out and prevent more runs from being scored.

"I tell you what, the blocks in particular kept that game from — (kept) them from scoring more runs off of Blake," said Padres manager Bob Melvin. "It's not an easy thing to do to block that many balls in big situations and keep the runners where they were. ... Defensively, he was fantastic today."

(Via

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Snell was sure to express his appreciation for Sanchez's strong performance.

"I love Gary," Snell said. "That's my dog. He's the man."

(Via

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Snell has been playing with Sanchez and Sanchez only since the Padres claimed the catcher off waivers in late May.

"He knows me best," Snell said. "I can't say enough about him. I love throwing to him. I love the connection that we have. I love everything. We're always on the same page. He understands me, I understand him. It's been a lot of fun."

(Via

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Most Padres fans hope that the fun continues, as Snell is frequently rumored to be on the trading block as San Diego decides whether to sell or buy at the Aug. 1 trade deadline