Blake Snell Still Looking to Improve Despite Strong Return From IL

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Blake Snell returned to the rotation after a successful stretch of starts following his elbow procedure on August 11. Snell's stellar performance continued, as he posted another quality start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Despite allowing just one earned run in the first two outings, Snell recognized there was room for improvement in his recent outings.

During his latest start, Snell struggled to get strikeouts, walking three batters with two outs each time. He admitted that his behavior during those innings was "lazy," and he needed to work on commanding the ball for more innings. Snell's frustration was evident, but he acknowledged that his recent outings were a significant improvement over his opening start of the season, when he was on the injured list.

With the Dodgers' postseason rotation set to feature four pitchers, Snell's impressive run so far makes him a clear candidate to remain in the rotation through the postseason. The Dodgers are expected to include Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and either Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow in their final three spots. Ohtani's two-way abilities and Glasnow's recovery make them the more likely candidates to start, which could impact Snell's postseason rotation status.