Dodgers Get Major Scare to Star Player Before Last-Minute Change vs Angels
The Los Angeles Dodgers began the year as the hottest team in baseball, with one of the best starts a reigning champion has ever had, but they’ve slowed down in May.
Although Shohei Ohtani is bending the brains of baseball fans by being the best pitcher in the sport, his hitting has taken a dip, along with that of other members of the team.
While they have won two in a row following a four-game skid, and are going into a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels looking to continue their momentum, more bad news hit the back-to-back World Series champions on Friday.
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Superstar pitcher and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell made his first start of the season this past week against the Atlanta Braves and was supposed to start on Friday to open up the Angels series.
Although Snell, in post-game interviews following a loss to the Braves, indicated that he “felt great,” that might not be the case after all. He has been scratched from his start against the Angels, with the Dodgers forced to deploy a bullpen game with World Series hero Will Klein expected to open for the champions.
Per The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Snell’s absence doesn’t appear to be related to the shoulder that kept him sidelined for the first month of the season, but no additional news has come out about his status with the team moving forward.
While LA has shown it will be cautious with its starting pitchers to have them healthy for the playoffs, Snell’s place in the starting rotation is important, with fellow frontliner Tyler Glasnow recently moved to the injured reserve following lower back pain that forced him to retire from a start two weeks ago.
We will keep you updated as the story progresses with Snell and the Dodgers.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 3:12 PM.