SAN FRANCISCO — The result of Blake Snell’s final pitch Saturday, a fastball that San Francisco Giants third baseman Shay Whitcomb lined into left field, mattered far less than the fact that the left-hander had passed the 75-pitch mark without incident.
Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández threw out Whitcomb at second. And Snell walked off the field to complete a four-inning start in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win.
The Dodgers (99-62) entered locked in as a No. 2 seed for the playoffs. So, the stakes of their last two games of the regular season boiled down to health and preparation for the postseason. There was no better example of that give-and-take than Snell’s five-hit, one-run start.
Because Snell left his previous start with tightness in his left groin, the Dodgers planned for a short outing Saturday, prioritizing his health for the postseason.
“It’s trying to figure out how much we’re going to push him,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I don’t see it going north of five innings. But if he can go five innings and come out of it feeling great, that’d be fantastic.”
Snell wasn’t quite efficient enough to make it through five, but Roberts had called that target “arbitrary.”
The only run Snell gave up was the result of a double, stolen base and sacrifice fly in the third. He had three strikeouts and no walks.
Snell, who missed time because of a late spring training build-up and arthroscopic surgery in May to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, finished the regular season with just 42⅔ innings pitched. But he posted an impressive 1.90 ERA in that time.
The team considered replacing Snell’s start Saturday with a live batting practice session, Roberts said, which would have still given Snell feedback from hitters, but in a more controlled environment.
“We gave him and the training staff every out to do so,” Roberts said. “But there was a lot of confidence that he’s in a great spot.”
Snell’s recent workload was another reason for the Dodgers to be conservative with his workload Saturday. Over the past two weeks, he’s only thrown one inning.
“So there’s a balance between getting your work in, making sure you feel good coming out of it,” Roberts said. “Even for example, I could’ve pushed Tarik [Skubal in his start Friday], given his efficiency. But to me, to what end?”
Snell should be full-go for the playoffs, Roberts said. But count Snell among the Dodgers players who can benefit from the wild-card bye.
“This is still an important one,” Roberts said of Snell’s start Saturday, “to go into it feeling good, to then take that extra six, seven, eight days.”
Six to eight days off would line Snell up to start Game 2 or 3 of the National League Division Series. But Roberts declined to tip his hand on rotation order. The days off give the Dodgers extra flexibility to line up their pitching.
“You’re looking at, the first series, who could pitch on regular [rest], who needs extra, how potentially the next series lines up,” Roberts said. “How you can … maximize those four guys. And I do think with those four guys, it doesn’t matter the opponent, so that’s not a variable.”
Roberts also said alternating between right- and left-handers was not a variable.
“To be honest with you, you could put them all in a hat, and you could make a case for any order you put them in,” Roberts said.
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the stalwart of the rotation, certainly has performed to the level of a Game 1 starter, both this season and in a heroic World Series run last year.
For Game 2, it would make sense to choose a pitcher who’s comfortable starting on four days rest. Then, thanks to a pair of off days built into the series, both the Game 1 and Game 2 starters could be available to throw in an if-necessary Game 5.
Skubal has pitched on regular rest this season more than any of his rotation mates, making him a strong option to take the ball in the second game.
If the Dodgers do, indeed, go in that direction for Games 1 and 2, Snell would then be the natural choice for Game 3, on eight days’ rest. And right-hander Tyler Glasnow could take an if-necessary Game 4.
The Dodgers don’t need to finalize any postseason pitching decisions just yet. They just needed to see how Snell recovered from last week’s groin injury.
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