Padres starter Blake Snell has pitched much better this season than his 3-6 record might indicate, recording a 3.48 ERA and only allowing more than three eared runs twice in 14 starts. On Saturday, however, Snell reached another level, and it wasn’t just because he was facing his former team.
Snell struck out every starter in the Rays’ lineup at least once, matching his accomplishment from June 11 against the Rockies. By striking out all nine opposing starters in consecutive starts, Snell became the fourth MLB pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to achieve that feat, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The lefty joins Randy Johnson (1992, ’99) Pedro Martinez (1999, 2000), each of whom did so twice, and Jacob deGrom (2021).
