Blake Snell, the two-time Cy Young winner, absolutely dominated in his return to the Dodgers last night, striking out the side in the first inning. This wasn’t just a comeback; it was a statement after a brutal start to his 2026 season. Before Tuesday, Snell had pitched only one game all year, making his debut way back on May 9 after dealing with shoulder soreness. That outing lasted just three innings, where he coughed up four runs before heading right back to the IL for elbow surgery to remove loose bodies. Last night, though? That was the Snell the Dodgers shelled out for.
He didn’t stop there. Snell whiffed another seven Royals over the next five innings, giving him ten Ks on the night while allowing a measly four baserunners and just one run. On the offensive side, shortstop Mookie Betts had himself a day. He smashed his 14th homer of the year in the second inning and tacked on two more hits, including a game-tying single in the eighth. Betts went 3-for-4 with a homer, double, single, two runs, and two RBIs. And boy, did the Dodgers need him to step up, especially after reliever Evan Phillips gave up three runs while recording only one out. Betts’ heroics pushed the game to extras, where third baseman Max Muncy singled in Shohei Ohtani for the walk-off win. The Dodgers grabbed Tarik Skubal at the deadline because their rotation needed help, especially with Ohtani restricted to hitting indefinitely due to his knee. But getting Snell back, a guy with the same number of Cy Youngs as Ohtani, is absolutely massive.
Meanwhile, Luis Rengifo proved that revenge is a dish best served cold, and with a grand slam. After signing with the Brewers this offseason, Rengifo hit a miserable .205/.280/.254 in 57 games before Milwaukee cut him loose on June 23. The Padres scooped him up less than a week later, and he’s been tearing it up on the Brewers’ dime ever since, batting .321/.415/.457 for San Diego. Last night, he hit his third homer of the season, and third with the Padres, right against his old team. That grand slam in the bottom of the second put the Padres up 5-0. Fernando Tatis Jr. kept the scoring party going, blasting his fourth homer in seven games, his 12th of the season, to make it 6-1. The Padres cruised to an 11-2 victory, getting their season run differential back to zero. Walker Buehler also played a huge part, bouncing back from a brutal three-start stretch in early July where he gave up 20 runs and six homers in just 11 innings. He’s since strung together a five-start run with a 3.20 ERA. If Buehler keeps this up, and deadline acquisitions Robbie Ray and Casey Mize deliver, the Padres might actually climb out of negative territory for the long haul.
This was a big win for the Padres, their fourth-straight game won. What does this hot streak mean for their season, and what will Snell’s dominant return do for the Dodgers? We’re about to find out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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