Snell gave up an earned run on one hit and five walks over 2.2 innings in Tuesday's 9-6 Grapefruit League split-squad win over the Orioles. He recorded a strikeout.
Snell's command issues were more prevalent than ever, with the young lefty not coming close to the five innings he was scheduled to pitch.The 24-year-old experienced the same breakdown in mechanics that bedeviled him last Thursday versus the Pirates, namely, his left shoulder flying open during his delivery. Snell threw a whopping 60 pitches overall during his time on the mound and is running out of time to get deeper into a game before the regular season. "This next outing is an important one for him," Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey said. "He needs to get deep in the ballgame, at least into the fifth inning, because he hasn't been close yet. We need to get over that hurdle real quick here."