Blake Snell was scratched from his scheduled start against the Angels on Friday, and the Dodgers moved to a bullpen game instead. A person close to the situation, but not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the change.
The Dodgers listed right-hander Will Klein as the starting pitcher when they posted their lineup Friday afternoon, a move that signaled the switch. The reason for pulling Snell was not immediately clear.
Snell had only recently returned from an injured list stint that began at the start of the season because of left shoulder fatigue. He was brought back from a rehab assignment early to replace Tyler Glasnow, who went on the injured list last week with back spasms.
The left-hander’s most recent outing did little to settle the picture. In a 7-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, Snell allowed four earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts over three innings and 77 pitches.
That made Friday’s scratch more notable because the Dodgers had already been forced to adjust once in response to Glasnow’s injury. Now they were making another change before the first pitch, with Klein listed to open the game and the bullpen carrying the rest.
What happens next depends on whether Snell’s scratch was tied to a physical setback or simply a precaution, but the Dodgers were already leaning on depth they had not planned to use this soon.
