Blake Snell stretches out, James Outman homers in Dodgers loss to A’s
Snell struck out five batters in his 3⅔ innings on Sunday, allowing four runs. Outman hit his first home run of spring training.
Blake Snell was hit around a bit, allowing four runs on five hits, but he pitched into the fourth inning, continuing to stretch out in the Dodgers’ 7-5 loss to the A’s on Sunday afternoon at Camelback Ranch.
Snell struck out five of his 16 batters faced on Sunday, but allowed a solo home run in the second inning and three more runs in the third. He pitched 3⅔ innings in that was his second Cactus League start of the spring, but he also mixed in an outing on the backfields on last Monday’s off day. Snell’s 67 pitches Sunday are the most by any Dodgers pitcher so far this spring.
Snell, like Tyler Glasnow, will pitch one of the exhibition games next Saturday at the Tokyo Dome, and would have time for one more tune-up after that if needed — simulated or otherwise — ahead of the Dodgers’ first home series at Dodger Stadium on March 27-29.
Getting into the swing
After a disastrous sophomore season in which James Outman hit just .147/.256/.265 in 53 games and rarely saw the majors after mid-May, it’s been a rough spring training for the Dodgers’ best defensive option in center field.
Outman has 14 strikeouts in his 31 Cactus League plate appearances this spring, including two on Sunday, which prompted Dave Roberts on Friday to tell reporters in camp, “Early on, he looked really comfortable with kind of a little revamped swing. But right now, he’s swinging and missing a lot. I don’t know if he’s pressing. He just doesn’t look as comfortable,” per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.
Sunday also brought some positive news for Outman, in the form of a three-run home run to right field in the fourth inning.