Blake Snell will be the first on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday for Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
Snell will be the second left-handed hurler that Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts will deploy in the NLDS, hoping to capitalize on some notable hitting challenges that the Atlanta Braves have recorded against lefties.
The same logic led Roberts to name two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal the starter for Game 1, despite having reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto available to start.
The Braves finished the 2026 regular season hitting .252 off right-handed pitchers with a .736 OPS. Meanwhile, Atlanta hit .240 off lefties with a .696 OPS as a team.
Atlanta will get to face two Cy Young-winning lefties to start the NLDS. Their consolation prize for Game 3? Yamamoto.
When you have one of the greatest collections of arms in the modern era, there’s truly no wrong answer.
Here’s how Blake Snell has done against the Braves
Blake Snell’s historic numbers against Atlanta are a bit of a mixed bag. He’s 0-3 all time in six career starts against the Braves, with a 3.49 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. He’s given up 26 hits and 18 walks in those starts. He hasn’t recorded a win, but his numbers aren’t terrible.
As a Dodger, he’s only faced the Braves twice. He pitched four innings against Atlanta in April 2025 and left with a no-decision. In May of this year, he recorded a loss after yielding four runs in only three innings.
His 2026 season was one of his best ever, although it was an injury-plagued and shortened season.
Snell went 4-1 across nine starts with a 1.90 ERA in 42.2 innings. He recorded 55 strikeouts, 16 walks and had a WHIP of 1.10. He did not allow a single home run this season, according to Baseball Reference.
Another reason for optimism, in his two Braves starts before this season (2024 and the aforementioned 2025), he threw 10.1 scoreless innings. He’s obviously got the goods and teams change so much year to year that it’s almost impossible to read into it.
Snell is, without a doubt, one of the best pitchers in baseball still. And he’ll have full opportunity to prove it on Sunday.
Game 1 of the NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves was scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m., before the venue switches to Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia for Game 3—first pitch in Game 3 is set for 3 p.m.
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