San Francisco Giants star Blake Snell exited Sunday's outing against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning with an injury, another wrinkle in what has been an injury-plagued first couple of months of the season for the left-hander.
The Giants announced postgame that Snell was removed from the game after dealing with a tight left groin. He landed on the 15-day IL with a similar injury, a left adductor strain, earlier this season and ended up missing more than a month of action.
Snell threw 99 pitches in the game but couldn't escape the fifth inning before making his leave. The injury appeared to occur in the top of the fifth after he threw a pitch to Alex Verdugo. He walked off the field alongside Giants senior director of athletic training Dave Groeschner.
Blake Snell was removed from the game with an apparent injury pic.twitter.com/la02PDeFrZ
The left groin tightness put an early end to what was the 31-year-old's best start of the season. Prior to exiting, he'd recorded seven strikeouts and surrendered just one run across 4 2/3 innings, though two more earned runs were tacked on after Verdugo doubled off Snell's replacement Erik Miller.
Snell, the reigning National League Cy Young winner, has struggled through his first six starts of the season. After Sunday's start, he owns a 9.51 ERA across 23 2/3 innings with 31 strikeouts and 14 walks.
He signed for San Francisco on a two-year $62 million deal during free agency, which includes a player option for the 2025 season.
It's not immediately clear if Snell will head back to the injured list as a result of his latest ailment, though it'd certainly be a big blow for the left-hander as he aims to rediscover his form from last year.
KARL RASMUSSEN
