Blake Snell returns in Dodgers’ loss to Atlanta Braves

If the game was viewed as an extension of spring training, which is basically what it was for Blake Snell, the Dodgers’ 7-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night could be charitably classified as a success.

After missing the first six weeks of the season, Snell was throwing hard in his season debut.

His fastball touched 98.1 mph, and the average velocity of the pitch was 95.9 mph.

So he was healthy, at least.

Snell’s final line was ugly – five runs (four earned), six hits and two walks in three innings – but he wasn’t as bad as his numbers suggested.

Snell struck out five batters, as the Braves whiffed on 16 of his pitches. The stuff was there.

What was missing was sharpness, and that was expected, considering he was initially scheduled to pitch in a minor league game on this day. A recent back injury to Tyler Glasnow forced Snell back into the rotation earlier than expected.

Snell loaded the bases in the first inning before registering an out, but he managed to limit the damage to a solitary run by striking out two of the next three batters.

The Braves added four runs in the second inning, two on a bases-loaded single by Ozzie Albies, who practically scraped a changeup off the ground, and two more more on a line-drive hit by Matt Olson, who pounced on an elevated slider.

Snell departed the game after throwing 77 pitches in three innings.

But Snell looked to be a series of small adjustments from returning to his customary form, and the starter opposite of him showed how much of a difference a week could make for a pitcher in his position.

Sidelined with an oblique strain until last week, Strider made his season debut in Colorado and was charged with three runs, four hits and five walks in 3 ⅓ innings.

A former All-Star and 20-game winner, Strider was much better against the Dodgers. He blanked the defending World Series champions over six innings, limiting them to a hit and two walks.

What it means

The loss was something of a reality check for the Dodgers.

In the series opener the night before, they scrapped and clawed against reigning Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale to earn a 3-1 victory.

If that game demonstrated their ability to capitalize on opportunities to win difficult games, their loss on Saturday was a reminder of how unthreatening their offense can look on certain nights.

The Dodgers let Spencer complete six innings on 91 pitches and they collected only two hits in the first seven innings. Their only runs were scored on a two-run homer by Andy Pages in the bottom of the ninth inning.

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Who’s hot

Certainly none of their hitters.

But left-hander Jack Dreyer pitched a scoreless fourth inning and retired the only batter he faced in the fifth.

Dreyer has not allowed a run over the 8 ⅓ innings he’s pitched in his last eight games. His earned-run average has dropped from 4.35 to 2.41 over that period.

Who’s not

Brock Stewart wasn’t active for long.

Three days after he was moved to the active roster, the talented-but-fragile reliever was back on the injured list, this time with a bone spur on his left foot.

Stewart missed the first six weeks of the season as he was recovering from a procedure he underwent last September to clean up his right shoulder. He pitched two scoreless innings in his brief time on the active roster – an inning on Wednesday against the Houston Astros and another on Friday against the Braves.

The Dodgers acquired Stewart from the Minnesota Twins last year in exchange for outfielder James Outman.

Up next

In a showdown of breakout pitching standouts, the Dodgers will start Justin Wrobleski, who is 5-0 with a 0.56 earned-run average as a starting pitcher. The Braves will counter with Bryce Elder, who made an All-Star team in 2023 but has been mediocre since. Elder will enter the game with a 3-1 record and 2.02 ERA in eight starts.