Padres' Blake Snell, 'on a little bit of a mission,' shuts down Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- The National League Cy Young race was tightening up, the regular season was down to its final three weeks, a critical start against the Dodgers was on tap, and Blake Snell, the ace of a Padres team far removed from contention, needed to make a statement.

With six scoreless innings against one of the most menacing offenses in the sport, Snell established himself as the clear favorite for the award.

"He seems to be on a little bit of a mission," Padres manager Bob Melvin said after Wednesday's 6-1, Snell-inspired victory at Dodger Stadium. "This late in the season, you're throwing as hard as he does, and all four pitches are working like that, he's a tough customer to deal with."

Snell allowed two baserunners, on a single and a walk, and struck out eight batters, lowering his ERA to a major league-low 2.43 in 167 innings. Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs, perhaps Snell's closest competitor for the NL Cy Young Award, holds a 2.49 ERA in eight fewer innings. Logan Webb and Zac Gallen have each surpassed 190 innings, but their ERAs are 3.40 and 3.50, respectively. Spencer Strider easily leads the majors in strikeouts with 259 -- 42 more than Snell, who's tied for second -- but his ERA is up to 3.73.

The award appears to be Snell's to lose if he can continue his recent surge for the three starts that remain in what has been a thoroughly disappointing season for his star-laden Padres. Snell, a free agent at season's end, held a 5.40 ERA when he took the ball in Washington, D.C., on May 25. Since then he has a 1.33 ERA in 21 starts, more than a full run better than any other qualified pitcher during that stretch. His past four starts have seen him give up two runs and strike out 33 batters in 25 innings.

"Cy Young dominant, right?" Melvin said. "It's what he's digging for. He's done it before. He knows what that feels like."

Snell, who won the American League Cy Young Award as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, could be the seventh pitcher to win a Cy Young in both leagues, joining a decorated list that includes Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clements, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer. He also could be the first pitcher in 64 years -- and just the third overall -- to do so while leading his league in walks.

"If you're in that talk, it means you're doing something right," said Snell, who also has allowed the majors' lowest opposing batting average. "It's definitely something you wanna be at, and it's definitely something you wanna try to get. That's the whole goal. That and the World Series. That's the two things you want."

The Padres, seven games out of a playoff spot and without key rotation cogs in Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish, had been riding Snell hard throughout the summer. They recently presented him with the option of taking a couple of extra days of rest to start the Friday game against the lowly Oakland Athletics. He instead chose to remain on regular rest to face the Dodgers.

"I just enjoy the moment, enjoy the challenge," Snell said. "It's why you play -- to play the best teams. And it's the only way you can really tell how good you are."

Mookie Betts led off Wednesday's game with a single and then drew a walk in the third inning. Outside of that, Snell retired all 18 of the hitters he faced with relative ease, helping the Padres win their first regular-season series against the Dodgers in 13 attempts (San Diego also won last year's NL Division Series). His fastball averaged 96 mph, half a tick higher than his season average, his curveball generated six swings and misses, and his slider and changeup were also working.

It was merely a continuation of Snell's recent prowess, a run that seems to get more impressive with each passing start.

Asked whether he's on a mission, Snell smiled.

"Some would say, yeah."