“Blake Snell was good, not great” - Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offers brutal verdict on pitcher’s faceoff vs. Paul Skenes in 5-3 loss

The Los Angeles Dodgers had two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell on the mound for a much-anticipated duel against Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes in the series finale on Thursday.

The Dodgers hoped Snell to deliver a solid outing to avoid a series sweep against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. However, Snell ran into trouble in the fifth inning, conceding four earned runs, which proved to be the difference on the night.

While NL Cy Young contender Paul Skenes delivered six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight batters, Snell was taken off after conceding five earned runs in five innings.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reflected on Snell's outing after the 5-3 loss, acknowledging that the All-Star pitcher needs to be better despite being unlucky in the series finale.

"I think with Blake, I thought his stuff was good, was better than it was in his last start. It just seemed like today there were some singles, balls finding the outfield grass. I think that even the double, it's a breaking ball, first pitch, and he kind of flares it out, which is a big hit.

"I thought Snell was good, not great. But again, a little bit unlucky, and you know, when you're facing Paul Skenes, you just can't afford to give up runs."

Blake Snell makes blunt assessment of Dodgers' performance after Pirates sweep

While Dave Roberts felt his team was a bit unlucky on Thursday night, Dodgers ace Blake Snell didn't mince words in his assessment of their performance.

“I don’t know. We’re just not playing good baseball. That’s really it,” Snell said. “It’s pretty simple. We’re just not playing good ball. We’re going to Baltimore. They played good against San Diego, so we’ve got to come in with energy, set the tone with pitching and do what we know we can do.

"We’re a really good team. We’ve got to figure that out. That’s on us to do that. We’ve got to get it going. It’s crunch time right now. Can’t really have excuses. We’ve got to figure it out and make it happen.”

With the postseason looming, Roberts and Snell will look to return to winning ways as they aim to defend their World Series title in October.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash