Dominant Snell might have just locked up NL Cy Young

SAN DIEGO -- For 5 1/2 months, the National League Cy Young race saw its share of twists and turns. But on Tuesday night at Petco Park, Blake Snell might have just called game.

The Padres left-hander pitched seven brilliant, no-hit innings, further solidifying his case for a second career Cy Young Award, before Xander Bogaerts homered to walk off the Rockies in a wild 2-0 victory.

• 4 no-hitters broken up late in the past 10 days

A dominant Snell was lifted after 104 pitches in a scoreless game, before Brendan Rodgers broke up the Padres’ combined no-hit bid with a clean single off Josh Hader in the ninth. But Bogaerts’ walk-off two-run blast in the bottom of the frame ensured Snell’s efforts didn’t go to waste.

“Seven dominant innings again,” Bogaerts said. “It seems like a normal day of work for him now.”

Indeed, Snell lowered his Major League-leading ERA to 2.33. While other Cy Young contenders have faltered, Snell has gotten stronger down the stretch. He held a loaded Dodgers lineup scoreless in Los Angeles last week. Then, he held the Rockies without a hit for seven frames on Tuesday, striking out 10 while inducing a remarkable 23 whiffs on 43 swings.

If Snell was pitching with designs on locking up the NL Cy Young Award, a performance like this one might just have clinched it.

“He goes out there on a mission,” said Padres manager Bob Melvin. “I think he’s really confident in what he’s doing.”

The conversation between Melvin and Snell after the top of the seventh was, in Melvin’s words, “quick.” Melvin was planning to remove Snell. Snell told Melvin it would’ve been tough for him to complete nine, anyway. At that point, there was no reason to send Snell back out for the eighth.

Snell broke into a smile and made his way down the dugout for a series of hugs and high-fives, clearly content with Melvin’s decision.

“I understand my body really well,” Snell said. “With how hard I was throwing today, it's just not worth it. I understand a no-hitter is an amazing accomplishment, and it's so hard to do. I also understand how much I value health. I'm just not going to push for that. It's an individual accolade.”

• Every pitcher removed deep into a no-hit bid

More meaningful to Snell, a pending free agent, was the the possibility he might have made his last as a Padre at Petco Park.

“I understand what it means to put on this jersey,” he said. “If this is going to be my last start, I wanted it to be something special. I wasn’t envisioning that.”

Robert Suarez relieved Snell with a hitless eighth. Hader surrendered two hits in the ninth but he escaped without any damage, setting the stage for Bogaerts.

The Padres, of course, have been notoriously poor in close games this season. They entered play Tuesday 20-41 in games decided by one or two runs and 3-10 in games that were tied after eight. They hadn’t recorded a walk-off of any kind since Ha-Seong Kim homered against the D-backs -- on April 3.

But these Padres suddenly look … different.

They’ve won six straight and are playing their best baseball of the season. With their deficit in the NL Wild Card race at 5 1/2 games with 10 to play, it’s almost assuredly going to be too little too late. But they aren’t choosing to view it that way.

Said Bogaerts: “Better late than never.”

Nonetheless, Snell’s dominance has been a constant. He’s now in the midst of a 22-start stretch spanning the past four months, in which he’s posted a remarkable 1.26 ERA. In that span, he has allowed a grand total of 19 runs.

Not only does Snell lead the Majors in ERA. He also leads the Majors in opponent’s batting average (.181) and hits per nine innings (5.7), and he’s second in strikeouts (227).

And, yes, Snell also leads the Majors in walks. Were he to win the Cy Young, Snell would be the first pitcher to do so while ranking atop the league in walks since Hall of Famer Early Wynn did so for the 1959 White Sox.

But a game like this one offered the perfect example of how Snell has been so dominant despite the walks. He doesn’t allow those walks to score because, well, he doesn’t allow hits. He rarely allows contact.

Really, Snell’s outing Tuesday was emblematic of his entire Cy Young case. Hoo boy, would it have been something special without so many walks. He might’ve gone nine. He might’ve completed the franchise’s second no-hitter by himself.

But you know what? Even with the walks, what Snell had to offer -- on Tuesday night and throughout the entire season -- has been utterly dominant, nonetheless.