Blake Snell victimized by bullpen, Padres fall 5-4 to Rockies
Credit: AP Photo
The San Diego Padres entered Game 3 of the series in Denver, Colorado, looking to sweep the Rockies for the first time at Coors Field since 2011.
San Diego swept the Rockies at Petco Park in 2021 but couldn’t get the job done this time around.
Blake Snell pitched a phenomenal game on Sunday as he struck out 12 hitters while allowing just three hits. The southpaw pitched 7.0 innings and could have easily gone another if it wasn’t for a line drive off his foot in the 7th inning. Snell is pitching extremely well over his last four outings.
🦖 Blake Snell’s last 4 starts: 🔥
0.75 ERA
0.92 WHIP
1 HR allowed
33:10 K/BB
24 innings#BringTheGold | @snellzilla4 pic.twitter.com/hJQLZaqpJS— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) June 11, 2023
Manager Bob Melvin had this to say about Snell’s outing and why he didn’t go back out for the 8th inning.
After the game, Bob Melvin discussed why he removed Blake Snell after 85 pitches and went to the bullpen in the 8th inning, as well as the results of the x-ray and whether or not he expects Snell to make his next start: pic.twitter.com/YE6V7yAHA6
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 11, 2023
The home run allowed by Ezequiel Tovar in the first inning might have been a good thing for Snell. He allowed just two hits after that and put the Padres in a position to win the game. Snell remains (2-6) on the season as this team has a hard time giving him run support.
The Friars opened up the scoring in the 3rd inning as Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on a sacrifice fly from Juan Soto. The following inning Jake Cronenworth smashed a two-run shot to the Crone Zone to put the Padres up 3-1. With the way Snell was pitching, the sweep seemed like a huge possibility.
The decision to remove him cost the team a win. Yes, the bullpen needs to do their job and hold it off; however, putting Luis Garcia in for the 8th inning after just returning from a long IL stint seemed to be another costly decision from Melvin.
Garcia immediately allowed a hit and a home run to Coco Montas … who appeared in his first career major league game Sunday. You seriously can’t make this stuff up sometimes. Rookies seem to give the Padres fits regardless of position.
San Diego responded to take the lead in the ninth inning as Ha-Seong Kim scored on a wild pitch from Justin Lawrence. There was hope once again that a sweep was going to happen. However, Ryan McMahon smashed a home run to right field on an 0-2 count as Tom Cosgrove allowed the first run of his career.
Right after the homer, the game immediately went to atime delay, which lasted for an hour and 25 minutes. Brett Honeywell came out to finish off the inning, and with two outs in the ninth, Nolan Jones smashed a monster home run to win the game. Fernando Tatis Jr. didn’t even look at the ball as he knew it was over.
The Padres fell to (31-34) on the season, which keeps them in 4th place in the NL West. The team has an off day tomorrow and then will host the Cleveland Guardians for a 3-game series at Petco Park starting Tuesday night at 6:40 pm.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris is also an athlete and is huge fan of San Diego sports. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and contributes regularly about the Padres.