CHICAGO — Blake Snell has been shut down from throwing again after he felt renewed discomfort in his shoulder after playing catch on Tuesday.
Snell will be re-examined when the Dodgers return to Los Angeles.
“As he was playing catch, (Snell) just didn’t feel great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So right now we’re gonna slow-play the throwing and probably get it looked at again when we get back home.”
Snell made just two starts this season before going on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. At that time, he admitted he had been pitching with the pain for three weeks.
“I thought I could pitch through it when I got to Philly,” Snell said early in April. “Played long toss, catch, tried to throw – I just couldn’t.”
An MRI revealed inflammation but no structural damage and Snell began a throwing program last week, progressing to throwing a bullpen session on Saturday during the Dodgers’ series in Texas.
After that bullpen session, Snell said he felt much better than when he originally went on the injured list. But he acknowledged that he still had some discomfort that had “lingered.”
“Once I get throwing, I’m good,” he said. “When I play catch, I don’t feel it. When I get out here, I’m good. It’s, like, when I wake up I gotta get it going.”
That apparently changed during his throwing session on Tuesday.
“I wouldn’t say concerning,” Roberts said. “Because part of the messaging from us to Blake is, it’s about later on in the season. And if there’s any type of discomfort, let’s not try to fight through it.
“So, I say this a lot, given where we’re at right now on the calendar, not concerned at all.”
The Dodgers have used three spot starters (Landon Knack twice, Justin Wrobleski and Bobby Miller once each) and a bullpen game to compensate for Snell’s absence. Right-hander Tony Gonsolin was scheduled to make his final rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday night and be available to join the Dodgers’ starting rotation next week.
SMITH SITS
Catcher Will Smith was originally in the Dodgers’ starting lineup on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs but was scratched with a sore left wrist. Smith jammed it during a play at the plate in the sixth inning on Tuesday but stayed in and played the rest of the game.
“As he made the tag, his wrist turned in, so there’s some residual soreness,” Roberts said. “So we just felt it made sense to give him today, obviously tomorrow being an off day, and see where it goes from there.”
Roberts said Smith might get “some imaging” done when the Dodgers return to L.A.
KERSHAW PROGRESS
Left-hander Clayton Kershaw made another step in his recovery from last fall’s knee and foot surgeries by throwing three innings for Double-A Tulsa on Tuesday. It was Kershaw’s second rehab start and he is expected to make another next week. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is not eligible to come off the 60-day IL until mid-May.
Roberts called Kershaw’s outing for Tulsa “really positive stuff.”
“It’s getting better each day, each week,” he said of Kershaw’s surgically repaired toe. “It’s probably going to be something he’s gonna have to deal with, and it’s not going to be pain-free. But looking at the last couple outings, there’s been an uptick in velocity, which I know he’s certainly mindful of, which is a good thing.”
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Last week, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched up with two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and won a pitchers’ duel in Texas. This week, Yamamoto is lined up to face last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
“I think everyone in baseball is gonna be excited to see this one,” Roberts said. “I think you could argue they’re the two best pitchers in the National League.
“I think that the deGrom one, if I had to guess, and I’m not trying to speak for Yoshinobu, meant a lot in the sense of, deGrom has a great track record winning Cy Youngs and to go head-to-head with him is something that’s pretty cool, right? But then you get this young phenom guy who’s a great pitcher – it’s a different kind of thing. So I think they’re both kind of different. But he’ll be ready for the task.”
MLB Network has picked up Friday’s game and will broadcast it nationally outside the L.A. and Pittsburgh markets.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Thursday.
Pirates (RHP Paul Skenes, 2-2, 2.87 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 3-1, 0.93 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market), 570 AM
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