LOS ANGELES — Blake Snell was activated off the injured list on Saturday to start against the Atlanta Braves, after missing the first six-plus weeks of the season with left shoulder fatigue. To make room on the active roster, Brock Stewart is back on the injured list, this time with a bone spur in his left foot.
With Tyler Glasnow sidelined with back spasms, the Dodgers turned to Snell, who was scheduled to pitch five innings in his final rehab start for Class-A Ontario on Saturday, with a proposition
he was eager to accept.
“You try to figure out if [Snell] is open to taking the five innings here versus on rehab,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday. “And he was. he couldn’t be more excited to do that.”
Snell had a 4.50 ERA in eight innings over his three minor league rehab starts, with two walks and 10 strikeouts among his 32 batters faced between Class-A Ontario and Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 10 strikeouts came in his last two outings, with six in three innings for the Tower Buzzers on April 28 and four in four innings last Sunday for the Comets in Round Rock, Texas.
Saturday is the 39th game of the season for the Dodgers, who to date have only used six starting pitchers in an incredibly stable rotation to date. This is the latest into a season the Dodgers have used their seventh different starting pitcher since 2021, when it took until game number 40 with opener Jimmy Nelson.
Dodgers starting pitchers used through 39 games
- 2022: 9 starters
- 2023: 7 starters (used 7th pitcher — Gavin Stone — in game 32)
- 2024: 10 starters
- 2025: 11 starters
- 2026: 7 starters (Snell is the 7th, in game 39)
Stewart was just activated on Wednesday after missing the first 36 games while rehabbing from last September’s shoulder surgery. Stewart pitched in both games in which he was active, throwing scoreless innings on both Wednesday in Houston and on Friday against the Braves, totaling three strikeouts and a walk among his seven batters faced.
