On August 2, 2024, nothing got through
Eleven strikeouts. Three walks. No hits. Blake Snell was still in a Giants uniform that night at Great American Ball Park, and the Reds were left staring at a no-hitter on their own turf. 3-0. The final out came on a fly ball from Elly De La Cruz to deep right-center.
Tonight, he is back on that mound.
Only this time, he is doing it in a Dodgers jersey.
The timing is neat, and it suits Los Angeles even better. Snell is 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA. Since coming back from left elbow arthroscopy in May, he has strung together six starts without allowing more than one earned run. Four earned runs in all. Forty-six strikeouts in 34 and two-thirds innings. A 1.04 ERA over that stretch.
Try it for $0.99.
The left-hander still does not think he is good enough
Friday against Miami, he went 5 and two-thirds, struck out eight and allowed one run in a 6-2 win. Job done? Not for him.
“I think I can be much better,” said the two-time Cy Young winner. “It goes well because the more I pitch in this league, I understand hitters, and I’m starting to make adjustments quicker.”
He already faced Cincinnati last October, in Game 1 of the wild-card series. Seven innings, two runs, four hits, nine strikeouts. The Dodgers won 10-5 at home.
The stakes are different now. Los Angeles sits at 92-59 and is still chasing Milwaukee, who are 94-57, for the best record in baseball. A win tonight, or a San Diego defeat, would hand the Dodgers a fifth straight National League West title. The champagne is already waiting by the visiting clubhouse.
On the other side, the season is basically done
The Reds are just trying to get through it. 70 wins, 81 losses. Beaten 4-1 on Monday, then shut out 4-0 on Tuesday by the same Dodgers, who have now taken all five meetings this season. Tuesday marked their 17th shutout of the year. They have lost seven of their last eight.
Andrew Abbott gets the ball for Cincinnati. 6-11, a 4.78 ERA, and a 31st start that is a career high. Twenty-four home runs allowed. Eleven quality starts.
His last outing against Milwaukee was a disaster. Eight runs, seven earned, nine hits, two innings. A 20-0 loss. “The only thing I did well was throw strikes, but I was too much in the zone,” he admitted. “I let the team down.”
De La Cruz, meanwhile, keeps rolling. He had two of Cincinnati’s three hits on Tuesday and has now reached base in 22 straight games, the longest such streak in the league.
Catch up on the rest of our MLB news on the MathODDS site and app
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply