It was a homecoming of sorts for one of the key members of the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. However, it wasn’t a kind one.
The Tampa Bay Rays hosted the San Francisco Giants for the finale of a three-game set. The visitors pinned their hopes to take the series on defending National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
In a chapter that could have been ripped out of the Thomas Wolfe Novel “You Can’t Go Home Again,” the Rays battered their former ace in a 9-4 victory.
Snell lasted just four innings, allowing six hits, seven earned runs, two walks, and just four strikeouts. Snell tossed just 48 of his 78 pitches for strikes. The former Rays and San Diego Padres hurler’s already inflated ERA ballooned from 9.00 to 12.86.
Snell Not Showing Cy Young Form for San Francisco Giants
Snell faced a long free-agent ordeal over the offseason after earning the second Cy Young of his career in 2023. After posting a 14-9 record in his third season with the Padres to go with an MLB-best 2.25 ERA, teams did not seem eager to meet his contract demands.
At last, on March 19, he signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. The deal included Snell’s right to opt out after the first season.
The word on Snell is that when he’s on, he’s on. However, when he’s off, he can be really off. In addition to leading the majors in ERA last season, he also led MLB with 99 walks.
His nine-year MLB career has played out like a roller coaster. In his first Cy Young season with the Rays in 2018, he was a dominant 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA. However, the next season, he went just 6-8 with a 4.29 ERA.
Snell Had One Outstanding Season with Padres Before Joining San Francisco Giants
The Rays shipped Snell to the Padres following the 2020 season for a package of prospects. He did not exactly impress over his first two campaigns in San Diego.
In 2021, Snell was just 8-10 with a 4.20 ERA. He was moderately better in 2022, going 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA. After putting it all together with the 2023 Cy Young effort, the Padres were in no hurry to meet the price to keep him in Petco Park.
With Snell getting shelled in his second outing with the San Francisco Giants after not exactly impressing in his first start against the Washington Nationals on April 8, Giants Nation has every right to cringe a bit.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur.
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