Blake Snell's return to Tropicana Field did not go the way he had hoped.
The veteran lefty surrendered seven earned runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts in four innings pitched in San Francisco's 9-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
Snell made his second start in a Giants uniform after laboring through three innings in his 2024 MLB season debut against the Washington Nationals on April 8 at Oracle Park.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
In speaking to reporters after the game, Giants manager Bob Melvin was asked if Snell's struggles to begin the season have more to do with him historically starting seasons slow or his late start to spring training.
"I think it has more to do with [a shortened spring training]," Melvin said. "Not often do you see him get hit hard. He'll give up some walks and get nicked up a bit, but it's rare that you see him get hit like that, and I think that's just more feeling his way."
While Snell does believe his truncated spring training has impacted his feel for his pitches, he won't use the quick ramp-up period as an excuse.
San Francisco Giants
"Yeah, that's probably why my location's bad," Snell admitted postgame. "But just need to get better. No excuses. I can't use the spring thing anymore. I need to start doing what I can do and once I start locating the ball better, I'll get better results."
The issue on Sunday, as Snell alluded to, was his location.
"I just got to get in the zone, attack, and I'll be fine."
Snell was asked if he had any positive and/or negative takeaways from his second start of the season. He did, which coincidentally, were one and the same.
"[The] good? I get mad when I don't do good. So that's good. [The] bad? Location. We'll get better at that."
The Giants' road trip through the Sunshine State continues with a three-game series against the Miami Marlins beginning Monday at 3:40 p.m. PT.