It was the best Snell has done. I'm beginning to see some progress from him. He threw enough breaking balls for strikes. He had much better command of his fastball tonight.
He was real good early, and then his command wavered some there in the fourth and fifth inning. The next hurdle that he needs to overcome is to maintain the consistency of his delivery throughout the course of his start. He's making strides.
Those are young pitchers who made the adjustments, learned how important it is to get ahead in the count. There isn't much I can say positive about the first 3 2/3 innings of this game. Oliver had a decent first inning but after that there was no command to speak of.
Tonight was, in my opinion, dramatically better than what we saw in Florida. In Florida, he battled, but his fastball command was erratic. Tonight, it was crisp, it was good to both sides of the plate. It's a big step forward for him.
He really understands that he needs command and the ability to throw strikes when he pitches in the latter innings of games. I'm very pleased with the progress he has made in that area this spring.