Wednesday afternoon brought a mixed, albeit somewhat homogenous, bag. My curveball and slider are really good because of how good the fastball is.” And I think sometimes, to get out of my way, I need to throw the fastball to understand why everything else is so good. “I felt like I had good control,” Snell said. His fastball, one of the better left-handed weapons in the game, felt like a worthy means to an end. Against the Mets, he took the mound resolving to throw more strikes.

Last Thursday, he did not get out of the fourth inning against the Braves, as he repeatedly bounced breaking pitches in the dirt. Then, on March 30, he lasted just 4 1/3 innings. The urgency only grew when Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish were ruled out as Opening Day candidates. Snell and others around him spoke of a change in mindset. So, as he approached a contract year this past offseason, he began his throwing progression earlier than normal. In his career, he has been markedly better after the All-Star break (2.68 ERA) than before it (4.17). Snell’s start to the season has been a familiar story despite his efforts to reverse a familiar trend. … But I do think it’s going to build up, and I think this one was a step in the right direction for him.” “I don’t think his velo’s there yet, either. You’re seeing a lot of swings-and-misses,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “When he’s really, really good, you’re seeing balls in the zone all the time.

He threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 25 batters he faced, but he also threw just 53 strikes overall - a career low for an appearance of at least 100 pitches. He averaged 94.4 mph with that pitch, more than a full mph below his 2022 clip. He generated only two swings-and-misses with his bevy of heaters. On Wednesday afternoon, the left-hander was not so good. He also threw 71 other fastballs among 100 total pitches - an attempt, Snell said, to “see how good you are.” One of the blasts came after a dwindling pitch clock and a PitchCom-related hiccup led to his throwing a 2-0 fastball over the heart of the plate. He allowed four runs, five walks and two home runs. In his third outing of the season, the Opening Day starter completed five innings for his longest outing so far. On Wednesday, as he had less than a week earlier, Blake Snell added to his history of first-half struggles. But the bookends to the Padres’ well-attended East Coast swing were a bit too predictable.

Crushed by K.C. Blake