Dodgers’ big concern alleviated as Blake Snell returns in win over Giants

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SAN FRANCISCO — In Blake Snell’s final start of the regular season on Saturday, the stats didn’t matter so much.

Just that his previously ailing groin was no longer an issue.

The last time Snell pitched, of course, his late-season health status was thrown into sudden doubt. He managed just one inning during his Sept. 16 start in Cincinnati.

He made an early exit because of tightness in his left groin. And for a few days, there was concern about what it would mean for his postseason availability — and the state of the Dodgers’ rotation.

Those fears died down quickly, though.

Over the last week, Snell’s groin improved enough to throw a couple of bullpen sessions.

Thus, for one final time before the playoffs, he took the mound in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win against the Giants on Saturday and assuaged any health concerns for good (or so the Dodgers hope).

“I think, honestly, it’s the best-case scenario, in that [we were able to] get him back on the mound, know that he’s healthy, so he’s got assurance, we’ve got assurance,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Added Snell: “I didn’t feel it at all today. I didn’t really even think about it today, so that’s a really good sign. So definitely happy about where I’m at.”

Snell certainly wasn’t sharp at Oracle Park. Though he allowed just one run, he managed only four innings on an inefficient 77 pitches, failing to reach the five-inning target Roberts had roughly set before the game.

Still, all the Dodgers wanted to see was him get through the day healthy.

“To be able to pitch today, get 77 pitches, that’s big,” Snell said.

Roberts acknowledged there was some consideration given this week to just skipping Snell’s last start and letting him rest up for the playoffs, perhaps by giving him a session of live batting practice instead.

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However, the club was wary of giving the two-time Cy Young Award winner too long of a pre-October layoff.

And though he has a history of left groin issues — battling three separate episodes over the last half-decade that each sidelined him for at least three weeks to a month — Roberts noted there was enough improvement with Snell’s groin to throw him out one more time.

“I was confident. We were confident. But I think it’s still good to see it,” Roberts said. “And it’s good also that we got it out of the way, that rust off, versus whatever game in the postseason, then he’s rusty, and you’ve got to kind of pick up the pieces in a playoff game.”

The Dodgers will need more out of Snell in the playoffs than they got on Saturday, when he gave up five hits, struck out only three batters and (despite not issuing a walk) didn’t always seem thrilled with his command and execution.

“Got a big week ahead of me,” Snell said. “Lock that in and get ready for the [playoffs].”

Still, on the whole, he finished the 2026 regular season with sterling numbers when he pitched, going 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA in nine starts — having missed much of the campaign with a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the first month, then a surgical procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow after just one initial outing back.

For the National League Division Series, Snell seems poised to slot in as the Dodgers’ Game 3 starter — likely behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 1 and Tarik Skubal in Game 2, though Roberts was adamant Saturday that no decisions about the pitching staff have yet been made.

If the Dodgers save Snell for Game 3 — which would be in a week and a half on Oct. 6 — it would give the 33-year-old even more time to keep rounding back into form and ensure that his groin will not linger as an impediment.

Saturday, however, took care of much of that worry.

“I think I’m past it,” Snell reiterated.

Now, the Dodgers will know for certain what they have with their starting pitching group, going into the playoffs with Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell and Tyler Glasnow having all gotten through their final regular-season starts.

Last October, Snell was crucial for the Dodgers, posting a 3.18 ERA in six outings despite a pair of five-run starts while battling his shoulder problem in the World Series.

This fall, Snell has even bigger goals in mind.

“I want to be better than what I was last October,” he said.

After Saturday, “I think I can definitely do that,” he added.