Snell was charged with the loss in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Brewers on Wednesday, giving up four runs on four hits with nine strikeouts and two walks across six-plus innings.
Jackson Chourio went deep on the first pitch of the game, but Snell then locked in with five scoreless frames and headed into the seventh having retired 14 consecutive batters. Having just been handed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth, the left-hander then issued a leadoff walk to Andrew Vaughn before Jake Bauers finished an 11-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer, which was then followed by a Garrett Mitchell solo shot. Snell was dominant for much of the contest, but the homers that bookended his performance were a hole the Dodgers' struggling offense couldn't escape. He's lined up to start a possible Game 7 next week, but Los Angeles is on the brink of elimination while staring down a 3-0 series deficit.
Snell didn't factor in the decision in Game 2 of the NLDS against Atlanta on Sunday. He gave up a run on three hits with five strikeouts and five walks over 3.2 innings.
The left-hander certainly wasn't at his best and needed 90 pitches to record just 11 outs, but he was able to limit the damage to one run in vintage Snell fashion. The 33-year-old made just nine starts during the regular season due to shoulder and elbow issues, but he was effective when healthy with a 1.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 55:16 K:BB across 42.2 innings. Snell's next start isn't likely to come until the NLCS, should the Dodgers advance, since Tarik Skubal is lined up for a potential Game 5 versus Atlanta.
Snell took a no-decision Saturday against the Giants, allowing one run on five hits and no walks in four innings. He struck out three.
Snell experienced left groin tightness during his most recent in Cincinnati, but he looked healthy in a tune-up start Saturday ahead of the playoffs. The southpaw missed a big chunk of the year due to shoulder and elbow issues, which limited him to nine starts, but he yielded fewer than two runs each time out besides his first outing way back on May 9. He's rolling into the postseason with a 1.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 55:16 K:BB over 42.2 regular-season innings.
Snell (groin) is expected to start Saturday's game against the Giants, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
Snell was pulled from his most recent start last Wednesday due to groin tightness but felt good after throwing a bullpen session Tuesday. He expects to throw off the mound one more time later this week, and assuming all goes well, he'll make one final start before the postseason against a Giants team that has placed every member of its Opening Day lineup on the injured list.
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