The San Diego Padres’ 2023 season may be heading toward despair, but Blake Snell is shining.
Snell lowered his season ERA to 2.25 in a start against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, on June 26, throwing six innings of four-hit ball with two walks and seven strikeouts.
The team lost 1-2, but his pitching shined. “I had a good idea of what their hitters were going to do,” Snell said of the game in a postgame interview.
“I thought some hitters were going to look for the slower changeup, and I thought some were going to be more aggressive. I felt like I controlled the strike zone tonight and dominated the game, which I should have done.”
With the win, Snell set a franchise record by allowing three earned runs or fewer in 23 consecutive games. Since May 26, he has posted a 1.20 ERA.
According to Opta STATS, that’s the second-best 23-game streak in the live-ball era since 1920, behind Bob Gibson’s 0.85 in 1968.
“I’m learning about myself and how I need to prepare for each start,” he said. I think I’ve grown a lot in the last two years, learning about myself. I’ve thought about what kind of pitcher I am and what I need to chase,” he said, attributing his good performance this season to self-improvement.
Calling his current form “pretty good,” he added, “I’m always looking for ways to make myself better. I’m always looking for ways to improve myself. I’m trying to learn things and stay consistent.”온라인카지노
His only regret is the team’s lack of success. “The ultimate goal is the postseason, the World Series, so of course it’s disappointing,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around such a talented group of players,” he added.
“The thought of this month being my last really fires me up,” said the right-hander, whose five-year, $50 million contract expires this year. “My last start could have been my last home game for the Padres, and this could be my last start. Those are the things that make me play,” he said, adding that the thought that it could be his last with his current team motivated him.
With the current rotation, he could be pitching his last game of the season. “We’ll find out in the next day or two,” he said, adding that nothing has been finalized yet.
Snell, who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2018 after going 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 180 2/3 innings with the Tampa Bay Rays, reached 180 innings for the first time in five years.
“Something good happened the last time I threw 180 innings, and I feel like something good is going to happen again,” he said with a smile, subtly hinting at his Cy Young ambitions.
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