The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled Blake Snell from Wednesday's start after just one inning with left groin tightness.
Snell threw just 19 pitches, and the timing of the injury is a major concern. The regular season is coming to an end, and the Dodgers are about to start playing postseason baseball. Snell was expected to be in the postseason rotation, so an injury has the potential to throw off the Dodgers' plans.
The extent of Snell's injury is unknown, but he does not think it is anything too serious.
“I think it was more of a scare,” Snell told The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
“I’ll see where I’m at, day to day,” Snell said, “but I should be good.”
Snell said he first felt the issue in the bullpen on a slider, and then was trying to avoid using his lower half on the mound. His velocity was down a tick, and at this point in the year, it's better to be safe than sorry. The game turned into a bullpen day for the Dodgers, and they ultimately lost to the Cincinnati Reds.
“I wasn’t trying to use my lower half. It was only a couple pitches where I got into my legs and threw the ball hard,” Snell said. “Outside of that, I was kind of guiding it in there.”
Snell has missed most of the season with injuries. It started with shoulder fatigue and then a procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow. However, when he has been on the mound, he looks like the Cy Young Award winner he is.
The Dodgers will reportedly wait to see how he feels on Thursday before sending him for imaging. If he goes to the injured list, the Dodgers may have no choice but to return Roki Sasaki as a starter off the injured list. There was discussion about sending him to the bullpen now since that will likely be his role in October, but plans may change.