Dodgers hopeful to avoid worst-case scenario with injured star pitcher

So far, so good in Blake Snell’s bid to make another start before the end of the regular season.

Despite leaving his last outing on Wednesday in Cincinnati after just one inning because of tightness in his left groin, Snell arrived at Dodger Stadium on Friday already feeling better, saying his groin was back up to an “8 out of 10” before heading out for a session of flat-ground catch play in the outfield.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also offered an optimistic outlook on Snell’s status, saying he was “very hopeful” in the left-hander’s chances to get back on the mound before the beginning of the playoffs.

“Happy that we caught it early,” Roberts said of Snell’s injury.

Indeed, when Snell exited Wednesday’s game after just 19 pitches, it raised immediate concerns about the state of the Dodgers’ rotation.

Given the injuries the team is dealing with in its bullpen, and its offense’s inconsistent form through the second half of the season, the Dodgers will almost certainly need to lean on their starters during the playoffs –– similar to the way they did last year, when a rotation of Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani (who will effectively be replaced by Tarik Skubal this year) carried the pitching staff to a second-consecutive World Series title.

Losing Snell –– who was already sidelined for three months earlier this season following an elbow procedure, and has a history of left groin injuries throughout his career –– would have dealt a massive blow to those plans.

However, the Dodgers are at least initially optimistic they’ve avoided anything close to a worst-case scenario.

While Roberts acknowledged that there is still “a little bit of uncertainty” regarding Snell, and no exact date for when he might pitch again, the skipper also noted that the two-time Cy Young Award winner didn’t require medical imaging; another sign of the team’s confidence that his injury was not more severe.

It’s possible that, even if Snell continues to feel better, the Dodgers could elect to rest him for the remainder of the regular season to ensure he doesn’t suffer any further setbacks before the playoffs.

But, they are also wary of giving Snell too long of a layoff entering the postseason.

“It’s not just kind of plug-and-play,” Roberts said, “[to] sit it out for two weeks and pitch in a playoff game.”

Thus, the team will continue to monitor Snell’s progress in the coming days, hopeful that a potential pitching crisis has been averted.

“We feel confident,” Roberts said.