AP/Agencia
It all felt pretty strange for Blake Snell.
No spring training with his new team to work out the kinks and finally facing big league hitters for the first time in April — he couldn’t wait to get back out there.
Lane Thomas drove in three runs and Washington spoiled Snell’s San Francisco debut, beating the Giants 8-1 on Monday night in the opener of the Nationals’ week-long stay in the Bay Area.
there's our beautiful boy !! pic.twitter.com/ZKN9cbMrhb
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 9, 2024
“Honestly, it was just weird, I’m facing big league hitters I was aware of that,” Snell said. “I was being more careful than I usually would, usually I would just throw it over the plate. … Then I was really amped up, too, I was really excited to pitch. Bad combination I guess.”
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who won the NL honor last season with San Diego, agreed to a $62 million, two-year contract March 18. He had been throwing at extended spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona, to build up his arm strength.
Still, he likes how the ball is leaving his hand and looks forward to facing his former Rays on Sunday in Tampa Bay.
“There’s a lot going through my head right now but I would just say I was pretty amped up and I was trying to nitpick the zone too much,” Snell said. “I made the bullpen have to cover a lot of innings that they shouldn’t have had to cover.”
