San Diego Padres pitcher Blake Snell likes to pitch, and doesn’t like to have the ball taken away from him when he thinks he is on a roll.
We learned that much in the 2020 World Series, back when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays.
On Tuesday, he tossed seven scoreless frames for the Padres, with no hits allowed, four walks, and 10 strikeouts.
He was dominating the Colorado Rockies lineup.
However, this time, he was more understanding of Bob Melvin’s decision to pull him out of the game.
“Snell: I understand my body. … With how hard I was throwing today, it’s just not worth it. I understand a no-hitter is an amazing accomplishment, and it’s so hard to do. I also understand how much I value health. I’m just not going to push for that. It’s an individual accolade,” AJ Cassavell, a Padres insider, tweeted after a chat with Snell.
Snell: I understand my body. … With how hard I was throwing today, it's just not worth it. I understand a no-hitter is an amazing accomplishment, and it's so hard to do. I also understand how much I value health. I'm just not going to push for that. It's an individual accolade. https://t.co/Xo1IQMCKUM
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) September 20, 2023
This time, Snell got the big picture: his team is making a late playoff push, and it’s better for him to be relatively fresh for his next start.
The most important number to consider is 104: that’s the number of pitches Snell had when he was taken out.
Completing nine frames would have been extremely tough and even a bit irresponsible.
San Diego ended up winning anyway, on a walk-off homer.
They are 5.5 games behind the last Wild Card spot in the National League.
Can they pull off the miracle?
They might not have enough games left to do it, but they will be trying until the very end.
NEXT: Blake Snell Has Yet Another Must-See Mark In 2023
