SAN FRANCISCO — Blake Snell winced and wiggled his left arm. Bob Melvin quickly popped out of the Giants’ dugout and made his way to the mound with a trainer by his side, and after a brief discussion, the 31-year-old left-hander accompanied his manager off the field.
Snell’s 99th pitch, a fastball that sailed wide of the strike zone to put Giancarlo Stanton on base with two outs in the fifth inning, was the last one he would throw Sunday afternoon, walking off the mound with the second physical issue of his two-plus month tenure with the team.
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Snell had limited the Yankees to one run on five hits but handed over a bases-loaded situation to fellow lefty Erik Miller, who surrendered a hit that allowed two more runs to score, both credited to Snell, who still lowered his ERA to 9.51 from 10.42.
The Giants did not immediately provide a reason for Snell’s departure, though action was already up in the bullpen with traffic on the bases and Snell’s pitch count rising.
Signing a two-year, $62 million free-agent contract on March 19, Snell’s start was only sixth of the season. He waited to make his club debut until the fourth series of the season and after three starts was placed on the injured list with a groin strain that cost him a month.
The Giants’ pitching was already on fumes, with Tuesday’s starter listed as TBD and their bullpen throwing the most innings in the majors last month. Keaton Winn, who missed the past two weeks with forearm tightness, is supposed to begin a rehab assignment this week.
