Padres News: SD Has Let Down Blake Snell Since He Joined Franchise

Snellzilla gets no help on the mound

The San Diego Padres had their lefty ace on the hill in the second of three against the LA Dodgers, Blake Snell. Snell has had a rough start to the season; however, when he's on, he's one of the Friars' best pitchers, which says a lot. 

Snell has been inconsistent in 2023, but his seventh start on Saturday was his best of the season. Against LA, Blake went six strong innings, allowing only one hit, two earned runs, and six Ks. The two earned runs came from a two-run shot by Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor. 

Besides that, Snell was dealing, but the offense was providing zero help for the Southpaw. Unfortunately, this is nothing new for when No. 4 is on the hill; Padres insider Kevin Acee broke down the numbers for the offense when Snell is on the mound, and it isn't pretty. 

Since joining the Padres in 2021, he has received the eighth-lowest run support average (3.86 runs per nine innings) in the major leagues.

With the type of offense the Padres have, that is quite embarrassing. Snell sometimes doesn't do himself any favors, but the offense isn't contributing as well. It seems to be a common occurrence for Snell, as Acee reported this was the 18th time he allowed one or zero hits in which he went at least five innings, and it ended up being the seventh time he lost a game in that circumstance. 

The 30-year-old spoke to the media last night about the offensive woes. 

“It sucks we couldn’t get runs,” he said. “But I’ve got to do a better job of doing my job and not letting them score.”

He didn't pick up the win, but there was no doubt that it was his best start of the season. 

I don't know what or why that's the case, but the Padres need to do more when Snell is on. It was a winnable game on Saturday, and the big-time players failed to get it done. It goes both ways.