Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell was taken out of the game after just one inning of 42 pitches, and the San Francisco Giants came from behind to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Thursday. Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off double in the ninth inning, driving in all three runs for the Giants.
In the first inning, Arizona sent eight batters to the plate, capitalizing on some poor defensive plays. Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald made a throwing error on Josh Bell’s grounder, which led to a run, and Corbin Carroll scored from third base on a passed ball after Jake McCarthy reached base on a dropped third strike.
Snell said he realized he might not pitch beyond the first inning when facing his last batter of the inning.
“It was just too many pitches,” Snell said. “It was just not smart to go back out. I’ve done it before, but I never felt good after. It was just a lot of risk, not a lot of reward.”
Melvin agreed that Snell’s pitch count was too high to continue, and noted that the defensive errors were a factor.
“A lot of times, a starter’s not quite in his rhythm in the first and then we don’t make some plays for him, next thing you know he’s got 42 pitches,” Melvin said.
Snell gave up two hits and walked two, leaving two runners stranded when Kevin Newman grounded out. He had a 1.30 ERA over his last 10 games before this. Only one of the runs he allowed was earned.
“It’s tough to be so critical on myself right now because it’s one inning,” Snell said. “It wasn’t like the fourth inning. It was the first inning. We’re getting it going. I felt good. Stuff felt good. It was just a weird inning.”
Bailey evened the score at 2-2 with a two-run, two-out single in the fourth inning off Merrill Kelly.
