The Padres can look back fondly upon a couple things from their series win over the Dodgers this week – one of them another big outing from Blake Snell.
Snell went six innings, only giving up one hit while striking out eight in their 6-1 victory Wednesday.
His outing followed an 11-2 loss, but the Padres opened the three-game set by rebounding from a 7-2 deficit to tie it up, before a four-run ninth – including a three-run homer by Juan Soto – sealed the win.
A show of power gave the Friars a boost Wednesday.
Soto opened up the scoring with another homer, this one a solo shot, in the first. Three innings later, he followed a Fernando Tatis Jr. double with a single, giving Luis Campusano a chance to pad the lead. He did just that, when on an 0-2 count, he sent a long fly ball to right for his sixth homer of the year and a 4-0 lead for the Padres.
By that point Snell was cruising, having given up a leadoff single to Mookie Betts to open the game – then no more.
The starter, who improved to 14-9, also continues to make the case for his second Cy Young Award, with an 2.42 ERA, which leads the majors, and 217 strikeouts, second in the National League. And he relished the chance Wednesday to take on L.A.
“That’s why you play, you want to play the best teams, and it’s the only way you can really tell how good you are,” Snell told 97.3 the Fan.
The Friars hadn’t taken a regular-season series from the Dodgers in more than two years (though last year’s post-season series win was a keeper for sure).
Meanwhile, Yu Darvish is done for the season, with what is described as a stress reaction in his pitching elbow. He ends the year with an 8-10 record, 4.56 ERA and 141 strikeouts.
“The stress reaction, basically I need time for it to heal,” Darvish told MLB.com.
After an off day Thursday, the Padres, wrapping up a nine-game road trip, head to manager Bob Melvin’s old stomping grounds, Oakland. Seth Lugo, Matt Waldron and Pedro Avila are set to take the mound.