Account
Rays' Blake Snell Surges Toward Top Seed in Saturday's MLB The Show League
April 19, 2020
Only eight teams will advance to the MLB The Show Players League playoffs, and it's safe to say Blake Snell will be one of them. The Tampa Bay Rays hurler was his dominant self Saturday, going 3-1 on the night to take a four-game lead on Bo Bichette and Dwight Smith Jr. in the American League East.
That one loss was eating at Snell (13-3) by the end of the night.
"It was a tough day. We went 3-1 today," Snell said on his Twitch stream after wrapping up. "I don't know why it was so tough today, but it was. I've got to bring the energy like I used to."
His only loss Saturday came by way of Fernando Tatis Jr. (9-3), who's four-win night pulled him into a tie with Gavin Lux for first place in the National League West.
Here's how the action shook out Saturday:
Ty Buttrey, Los Angeles Angels (1-11)
vs. Soto (WSH): 3-0 Loss
at McCullers Jr. (HOU): 1-0 Loss
at Dahl (COL): 1-0 Loss
vs. Phillips (KC): 14-1 Loss
Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals (5-7)
at Rodriguez (BOS): 11-5 Win
vs. Snell (STL): 4-0 Loss
at Tatis Jr. (SD): 17-1 Loss
vs. Hoskins (PHI): 3-0 Loss
David Dahl, Colorado Rockies (4-7)
vs. McCullers Jr. (HOU): 2-1 Loss
at Phillips (KC): 3-0 Win
vs. Buttrey (LAA): 1-0 Win
at Luzardo (OAK): 1-0 Loss
Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia Phillies (8-4)
at Tucker (PIT): 2-0 Win
vs. Rodriguez (BOS): 2-0 Win
vs. Snell (TB): 2-1 Loss
at Carpenter (STL): 3-0 Win
Jesus Luzardo, Oakland Athletics (6-6)
vs. Phillips (KC): 4-0 Win
at Soto (WSH): 3-1 Loss
at McCullers Jr. (HOU): 6-2 Loss
vs. Dahl (COL): 1-0 Win
Lance McCullers Jr., Houston Astros (5-7)
at Dahl (COL): 2-1 Win
vs. Buttrey (LAA): 1-0 Win
vs. Luzardo (OAK): 6-2 Win
at Soto (WSH): 3-0 Loss
Brett Phillips, Kansas City Royals (6-6)
at Luzardo (OAK): 4-0 Loss
vs. Dahl (COL): 3-0 Loss
vs. Soto (WSH): 4-3 Win
at Buttrey (KC): 14-1 Win
Eduardo Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox (2-10)
vs. Carpenter (STL): 11-5 Loss
at Hoskins (PHI): 2-0 Loss
at Tucker (PIT): 3-2 Win
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD): 3-0 Loss
Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays (13-3)
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD): 5-1 Loss
at Carpenter (STL): 4-0 Win
at Hoskins (PHI): 2-1 Win
vs. Tucker (PIT): 6-0 Win
Juan Soto, Washington Nationals (4-7)
at Buttrey (LAA): 3-0 Win
vs. Luzardo (OAK): 3-1 Win
at Phillips (KC): 4-3 Loss
vs. McCullers Jr. (HOU): 3-0 Win
Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres (9-3)
at Snell (TB): 5-1 Win
vs. Tucker (PIT): 1-0 Win
vs. Carpenter (STL): 17-1 Win
at Rodriguez (BOS): 3-0 Win
Cole Tucker, Pittsburgh Pirates (2-10)
vs. Hoskins (PHI): 2-0 Loss
vs. Tatis Jr. (SD): 1-0 Loss
vs. Rodriguez (BOS): 3-2 Loss
at Snell (TB): 6-0 Loss
With three days left in pool play, Snell and Texas Rangers star Joey Gallo seem like the only locks to make the postseason. After that, things get a bit dicey.
Trevor May (7-5) and Lucas Giolito (7-4) are still battling things out in the AL Central, while Jeff McNeil (8-3) and Rhys Hoskins face a similar situation in the NL East. The Cincinnati Reds' Amir Garrett has a one-game lead on Chicago Cubs infielder Ian Happ, but in an NL Central that's yet to see much competition, Garrett could wrap that one up with another big night.
The toughest division race at the moment comes down to Lux and Tatis in the NL West. While Lux has been one of the top players in the tournament, Tatis made a major statement Saturday.
His 17-1 drubbing of the St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter moved him all the way up to third in runs scored (26), which serves as the first tiebreaker should it get to that point.
Only the top eight overall teams will make it to the postseason. As pool play enters its final stretch, only two of those teams have established themselves.
First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET with all games streaming live on Twitch.