SF Giants ‘could be a player’ in free agency for known Dodgers killer

While the Giants seem to be going after Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto harder than any other hurler, another pitcher they’ve been connected to for a while is reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. MLB insider Jon Heyman reported that the Giants “could be a player” for Snell’s services in free agency — and offered a compelling reason why Giants fans could be especially welcoming to the left-hander.

Heyman actually got one thing wrong here, as Snell has not won 13 games against the Dodgers, but rather had 13 career regular season starts. While this bungle isn’t on the level of “Arson Judge” from Heyman, it’s another moment where the insider made Giants fans more hopeful than they should be.

But Heyman’s general point about Snell killing the Dodgers is accurate, as Snell is 2-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 62.2 innings, with 82 strikeouts against 29 walks in those 13 regular season starts. But Snell has been even better in the playoffs in his three starts against LA. In 15.1 innings, Snell allowed four runs on nine hits and six walks while striking out 24. He won his one start against the Dodgers for the Padres in the 2022 NLDS and helped the Tampa Bay Rays win Game 2 in one of two starts in the 2020 World Series.

It’s his second start in that series, from Game 6, that is perhaps one of the most famous in recent MLB history. The Rays were down 3-2 in the series but gave Snell an early lead by tallying one run in the top of the first. Snell then turned in some of his best work, only allowing one baserunner (a single in the third) through five innings of work. Snell retired the first batter of the sixth but then allowed a single to Austin Barnes, bringing leadoff hitter Mookie Betts up to the plate for the third time that night.

That’s when Rays manager Kevin Cash stunned the baseball world by pulling Snell, even though the lefty had only thrown 73 pitches. Snell was visibly upset at the decision when Cash started to come out and still looked shocked as he walked off the mound. One reason for the shock: Snell has struck out the three hitters at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup twice each.

The Dodgers immediately pounced on reliever Nick Anderson, with Betts doubling Barnes to third before a wild pitch scored Barnes to tie the game and moved Betts to third. When Corey Seager hit a grounder to first, Betts raced home and beat the throw. The Dodgers would not trail again, winning 3-1 and clinching their first World Series since 1988.

Some Giants fans still don’t count that World Series as a “real” title — after all, MLB only played 60 games. But if the Giants do sign Snell, his past success against the Dodgers from that series and overall record would put him in line with some of the best pitchers in franchise history (albeit on a much smaller sample size). And given that Snell just won the Cy Young under manager Bob Melvin, who left San Diego this offseason to come to San Francisco, it’s not hard to envision the left-hander following his skipper up the California coast to find a new home.