Padres News: Blake Snell Joins List With Just Nolan Ryan After Unbelievable Feat

The Padres ace is in good company.

It's no secret that Blake Snell is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his MLB career.

The San Diego Padres left-handed pitcher is firmly in contention for the National League Cy Young Award, and he may just lead the pack. 

In any case, Snell punctuated his case for the top pitching award with seven no-hit innings against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. The game ended with the Padres on the winning end of things thanks to a two-run walk-off home run by Xander Bogaerts, and the hurler that put them in position to do that left the mound with some incredible history in hand. 

Batters have 0 hits in their last 39 AB vs. the @Padres' Blake Snell, the longest streak by an MLB starter since he himself held foes hitless for 41 straight AB in Aug/Sep 2021.

Only one other pitcher in last 50 years has had 2 streaks of 39+: Nolan Ryan (47 in 1975, 40 in 1990) pic.twitter.com/isPoCVAj8z

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 20, 2023

Hitters having an 0-for-39 stretch against any pitcher is hard to even fathom, and it's rather fitting that Snell was the last one to do that, especially coming on the heels of one of the best outings of his career. 

And, oh yeah, any time you're on a list with Nolan Ryan, you can say with at least a fair degree of certainty that you're doing that whole pitching thing pretty well. 

The eight-time All-Star and Baseball Hall of Famer was a dominant force over his career, and he's MLB's all-time strikeout leader with 5,714 punchouts -- almost 1,000 ahead of his closest competitor in Randy Johnson. 

Tuesday's game continued a superb year for the 30-year-old, as he lowered his ERA to 2.33 -- a mark that leads MLB. 

The strikeout continues to be a great weapon for Snell this season, as his 10 K's increased his total to a career high 227 with at least one more appearance scheduled.

His standout season comes at a great time, as Snell is set to hit free agency this offseason. He surely will have plenty of potential suitors, and his current team should be one of them.