One start down, one to go for Blake Snell, who says he feels 'great' despite rough first outing
He walked four of the nine batters he faced and yielded a single and a double. It was actually similar in appearance to many of his early starts in 2021. His breaking pitches were sharp, his fastball consistently moved in the mid-90s. He just couldn’t find the plate with his breaking pitches.
“I’m in a way better place than I was last year when I first got here because I was overthrowing but the results were good,” Snell said in reference to his 14 1/3 scoreless innings in spring training. “And then the season started and it kind of whittled out. Right now, I feel great. The result was terrible, but where I’m at mentally and how I feel, it’s great.”
He did stretch and jog on a back field on the Rockies’ side of the Salt River Fields complex, but the timing of his routine was altered since he didn’t know exactly when his first inning would begin. Paddack’s line of three runs on four hits over three innings did not reflect the quality of his work. The Padres committed two errors and misplayed two would-be double plays behind him, and two of the hits he surrendered were soft singles.