Blake Snell exits start after just one inning

Snell allowed a leadoff homer to Jackson Chourio, and after that, the left-hander was dominant for the next five innings. And then, the seventh happened. He walked Andrew Vaughn, allowed a two-run homer to Jake Bauers and a solo homer to Garrett Mitchell without recording an out to turn what was an outstanding effort into a middling one. Justice for Kevin Cash? Snell would likely get the start in Game 7 if the Dodgers can force one, but there’s a pretty good chance his season is over.

It wasn’t any fun to watch, but Snell did keep the Dodgers in it until the ball was taken from him. He struck out five, and none of the five batters he walked came around to score, though a couple did help to advance the one runner that scored in the first. He’ll likely be available in relief of Tarik Skubal in Game 5 if needed.

A little bit of a surprise, but a pretty justifiable one. Tarik Skubal will get the ball for Game 1 against Atlanta, and they’ll have another southpaw hurl the second game in Los Angeles. That means Yoshinobu Yamamoto — one of the best starters in baseball in 2026 — will be the starter for Game 3 at home for the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Snell was solid for four innings in what amounted to a playoff tune-up start. He made his first start since mid-September due to groin tightness. The results have been good when he’s healthy, but Snell has made just 20 starts and thrown 104 innings in two years since joining the Dodgers.

It’s challenging to forecast Snell making a significant impact from a volume standpoint, but it’s a phenomenal matchup to close out the regular season. The 33-year-old southpaw was cleared to take the ball as a tune-up for the postseason after departing his previous start back in mid-September after one inning with groin tightness. He’s unlikely to work too deep into his final regular-season outing, but the Giants are rolling out a borderline Triple-A lineup as they limp to the finish line. He’s a worthwhile option in deeper mixed leagues, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect the Dodgers to push him from a pitch count perspective.

Snell appears to be on track to start Saturday’s penultimate regular-season contest against the Giants as his final tune-up prior to the postseason. There’s enough risk here from a health and volume standpoint that fantasy managers outside of deeper mixed leagues should probably seek alternative options for the final week of the season.

Technically, Sheehan could be brought back later this week to take the ball against the Giants in place of an injured Blake Snell (groin), but that would require another player, not necessarily Snell himself, to go on the injured list. The 26-year-old righty struck out nine over 5 1/3 shutout frames against San Francisco on Sunday. He’s been temporarily demoted to get Roki Sasaki back on Los Angeles’ active roster.,

Snell left Wednesday’s game with groin tightness. It looks like he’ll be limited to one tuneup appearance prior to the postseason.

Snell elaborated that he experienced some left groin tightness while warming up and decided not to push it after throwing a scoreless opening frame against the Reds. He also noted that it’s not as severe as groin issues that he’s dealt with in previous years. There should be a clearer idea of his next steps once he resumes throwing in a couple days. The positive news for the Dodgers is it doesn’t appear to be a worst-case scenario for Snell with the playoffs right around the corner.

Not good. The hope for the Dodgers is that Snell’s early departure was for precautionary reasons since he has a history of groin issues in previous seasons. Any sort of extended absence would be a significant hit to Los Angeles’ postseason rotation. The 33-year-old southpaw exited after throwing just 19 pitches in a scoreless opening frame in Cincinnati. The lone positive takeaway here is that he isn’t dealing with anything arm-related. He’ll presumably head for further evaluation and imaging to determine the severity of the issue and his next steps. There should be some additional clarity on his outlook following the contest.