Giants’ Blake Snell set for injury return after difficult start to 2024 season.
San Francisco Giants star Blake Snell is about to make his return to the mound over a month since he made his last appearance, with Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reporting that the two-time Cy Young winner will be throwing again this Wednesday in the second game of a three-leg road series versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“Blake Snell will start Wednesday in Pittsburgh, sliding in behind Logan Webb. It’s possible Giants go with a bullpen game on Thursday with Mason Black going bulk innings. (They’re facing Paul Skenes that day, so it’s a challenge either way.)”
Snell found himself on the 15-day injured list after being diagnosed with a strained adductor muscle. Before the report of his looming return surfaced, Snell had pitched for two games in the minors for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats and Single-A San Jose Giants. In those games, Snell allowed zero earned runs and no hits while allowing just a walk and fanning out a total of 17 hitters across nine innings of work. Those were good signs for Snell, who will be looking to start pitching like the pitcher the Giants expected him to be when they inked him to a two-year deal; worth $62 million back in March.
Blake Snell has troubling start to Giants stint
San Francisco Giants pitcher Blake Snell (7) reacts after walking an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the fourth inning at Oracle Park.
Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
So far in Giants uniform, Snell has struggled mightily on the mound. In three starts for San Francisco to date in the 2024 MLB regular season, the 31-year-old Snell has posted a dizzyingly bad 11.57 ERA to go along with a 0-3 record in three starts. In his most recent start in the big leagues, Snell got knocked around for five earned runs on nine hits with a walk issued and just three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work on the mound during a brutal 17-1 loss at home to the Arizona Diamondbacks back on Apr. 19.
Pitching has been a major issue for the Giants this season. They are only 22nd in the big leagues overall with a starters ERA of just 4.37, though, the same group is 15th with a 3.93 FIP, which indicates that San Francisco’s rotation is performing much better than what it appears on paper. The Giants’ starters also have a high .319 BABIP, an indication that it could get better for them in the long run.
