How difficult season transformed Blake Snell into Dodgers’ October ace

Most of the year Dodgers' The initial rotation seemed broken.

Largely because the pitcher who became his anchor was struggling to find himself.

Now it's easy to forget, because Blake Snell in the midst of a historic October performance that helped the Dodgers lead the back to the World Series. But for much of his rookie season in Los Angeles, the two-time Cy Young Award winner and $182 million offseason signing struggled with disappointment while enduring what he recently called “the toughest year of my career.”

First, there were well-documented early struggles: a shoulder problem that Snell quietly overcame in two poor starts early in the campaign before removing him from the injured list for the next four months.

Then last week, Snell detailed the ordeal for the first time: In late August, the same day his wife Haley gave birth to their second child, Snell became so ill in the hospital that he lost consciousness, was taken to the emergency room and remained hooked up to an IV overnight.

“This is terrible,” he thought to himself then.

Which has now made his dominant postseason — including a 0.86 ERA in his first three playoff appearances and a scheduled start in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night — even sweeter.

“It’s been a lot,” Snell told The Times last week, reflecting on a difficult season now poised for a triumphant final act. “But that's the whole point. Find the best in yourself. Fight all doubts, bull. And figure it out.”

In many ways, clarifying the situation was history of the entire Dodgers season. Because of their inconsistent and injury-riddled offense. Their an ineffective and injured bullpen. First of all, because of their constantly changing rotation.

This group dealt with a string of injuries earlier in the year, losing Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Rocky Sasaki and others in heartbreaking memories of 2024.

This time, most of their top arms came back healthy. But six weeks ago they still faced serious questions about the fall.

At this moment Yoshinobu Yamamoto Since his All-Star appearance, he has been mired in ups and downs in the first half of the year, raising concerns that he could tire on his way to a career-high 30 starts.

Glasnow returned from an early-season shoulder problem, but made six starts from July 29 to August 30 with an ERA above 4.00.

And bye Shohei Ohtani pitched well, he also continued to improve his strength, returning from his second career Tommy John surgery.

Suddenly, Snell became a linchpin for pitchers, putting him at the center of the late-season resurgence that was soon to come.

“Every great starting line-up should have that anchor,” manager Dave Roberts said. “For him to come back to pitching the way he did, it kind of raised the bar for everyone.”

The Dodgers made Snell their top priority for good reason last winter.

They looked at the patchwork rotation that nearly derailed them 2024 World Series runand decided that Employees of the Year needed another star to build around.

Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani have already laid a solid foundation. Clayton KershawEmmett Sheehan, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May showed enough depth to last a 162-game marathon.

However, there was one more true ace missing; the kind of guy who can turn a postseason series around and change October's fortunes. They saw such potential in Snell. They hoped his presence would complete their title defense plan.

“So far we've been talking about how we could put ourselves in the best position to win the World Series in 2025,” the president of baseball operations said. Andrew Friedman said that on the day Snell was introduced to the club, “every conversation came back to Blake.”

Of course, Snell's influence was limited for most of the year. After two starts due to injuries early in the season, he remained sidelined until the trade deadline.

During this time, the Dodgers slowed down Snell's recovery by putting him through a painstaking process (similar to how they handled Glasnow and Ohtani) that was designed to prepare him for an extended stretch of the season and hopefully peak by the start of the playoffs.

After his initial return in early August, Snell seemed to be on the right track, with the left-hander posting a sub-2.00 ERA in his first four outings off the IL.

Then, however, another unexpected setback occurred: He rushed home from an Aug. 22 outing in San Diego for the birth of his child.

By the time Snell's wife went into labor later that week, the 32-year-old arrived at the hospital feeling “extremely sick,” he said last week. At one point, when he got up from the couch to hold his newborn baby, he said he blacked out and passed out in the room.

Snell was rushed to the emergency room and spent the night there, receiving two IVs to combat an unspecified illness no doubt exacerbated by exhaustion.

“I really couldn't stand,” he said. “I just felt terrible.”

And yet, a few days later, Snell found himself back on the mound at Dodger Stadium; making sure that after a lengthy absence at the start of the campaign he would not miss another start.

“This is what I signed up for,” Snell said. “When I give a presentation, I just forget about it. I don't make a lot of excuses.”

Snell's illness was unknown at the time, but the physical toll it took quickly became apparent. His velocity dropped noticeably in a three-run start over 5 ⅓ innings on August 29th. vs. Arizona Diamondbacks. Six days later, he toiled again during a “disappointing” outing in Pittsburgh, collecting a season-high nine hits and five runs. for humble pirates.

However, getting through those games gave Snell the key to sharpening him for the rest of the season. “If you are what you are today, understand this,” he told himself. And finally, when there were no more disturbances in his daily routine, improvement came quickly.

Snell struck out a season-high 11 batters over six scoreless innings in the September 10 victory. vs. Colorado Rockies. A week later, he topped that mark with 12 knockouts in seven scoreless frames. vs. Philadelphia Phillies.

Snell said after that outing, which was followed by another six-inning, one-run start in his regular-season finale at Arizona: “[I’m] start playing ball with more purpose and working towards something…Getting to the postseason and doing that is what the whole season is all about.”

The old saying in baseball is that hitting can be contagious.

In the case of this year's Dodgers, starting pitching is obviously an option as well.

As Snell gained momentum in September, so did the rest of the team's resurgent rotation. Yamamoto rediscovered his form early in the season, winning National League Pitcher of the Month with a perfect 0.67 ERA in four starts. Glasnow finished the month with a 2.49 after finally refining his throwing mechanics. Ohtani, meanwhile, stretched out to six innings, maintaining his two-way dominance in multiple complete appearances.

The bar had been raised, and the constant cycle of gems continued to raise it a little higher.

The pitchers took advantage of the moment and enjoyed the overall success; to the point that Roberts joked that they were almost competing to outdo each other.

“I think we're doing well,” Glasnow said. “So it was just a matter of time before we all got good results at the same time.”

But no one has been more lethal this playoffs than Snell. In 21 innings thus far, he has thrown scoreless frames in all but one.

He was good in his first start, pitching seven innings of two-run ball. vs. Cincinnati Reds in the wild card round. He was superb in his next match, going six games without a point. vs. Phillies in an aggressive road environment.

However, his masterpiece appeared Game 1 of the National League Championship Seriesas he tossed eight scoreless innings, struck out 10 batters and toyed relentlessly with a Milwaukee Brewers lineup helpless to accommodate his manipulative changes.

“We all know it: Blake, when he’s right, is the best pitcher in the game,” Kershaw, his future Hall of Fame teammate, said afterward. “Having a guy who can do that, set the tone and just have a guy you can count on is great.”

For his part, Snell continues to insist: “I feel like I could be a lot better.” After repeated setbacks earlier this year, he claims that “even now I'm still struggling.”

The numbers, of course, tell a different story. In the live-ball era (since 1920), only three other pitchers with 20 or more innings in the postseason have had at least 20 strikeouts and an ERA below 1.00 (Sandy Koufax in 1965, John Smoltz in 1996, and Justin Verlander in 2013).

Snell will be on fire again Friday night, looking to continue a hot streak for himself and his rotation.

What once looked like the toughest year of his career is now four wins away from being his most productive.

“This is what you have to go through to win the World Series,” he said. “You can find an excuse, or you can find a way to figure it out.”