Blake Snell fans 10 in 6 innings in return for the Dodgers after a 3-month elbow injury layoff

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Snell struck out 10 batters in six innings in his return to the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers after being sidelined for three months with loose bodies in his left elbow.

He struck out the side on 13 pitches in the first inning for the first time as a Dodger. The Dodgers rallied to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 in 10 innings, although Snell didn't figure in the decision.

“He was fantastic,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I just liked the look in his eye and obviously talking about how good he feels physically. I give him a lot of credit for really attacking and not trying to be too fine.”

After striking out Nick Loftin to open the fourth, Snell gave up back-to-back singles to Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone. Witt scored on Salvador Perez's sacrifice fly, tying the game 1-1.

“Everything was free and easy,” Roberts said. “Really electric stuff.”

Snell allowed one more hit — a double to Tyler Tolbert in the fifth — before leaving the game in the sixth with the score still tied. He gave up one run and three hits and struck out 10 while walking one.

“I think the biggest thing was just being aggressive. Be in the zone, attack. I know how good my stuff is, so I didn’t want to just be nibbling and then complaining like, ‘Oh, that’s a strike,’” he said. “To strike out the side was good, but it’s just keeping the pace, keeping the velo where I need it to be, feeling strong, those things matter a lot to me. To be able to do that for six innings and feel like I had more left, I’m excited about that.”

The two-time Cy Young Award winner had made just one start this season, giving up four runs and six hits in three innings against Atlanta on May 9 before going on the injured list four days later.

“Pretty frustrating to have that as my only start and then have to rehab, go through all that, to come back,” Snell said. "Just had a lot of information from that game that helped me with this one on what I wanted to do differently and how I wanted to start. Definitely happy that I was more aggressive, more in the zone and more just in control of my emotions first one back.”

Snell is one of three Dodgers pitchers to have had surgery for loose bodies this season. Closer Edwin Diaz had right elbow surgery in April and fellow two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal had left elbow surgery in May while with the Detroit Tigers. Both are back pitching.

“That’s the Snell that we’re used to seeing and hopefully we have him for the next two, three months for the long run,” said teammate Max Muncy, who had the winning single in the 10th.

For the third consecutive season, Snell is returning from an injury in the second half. The NL West-leading Dodgers are looking for him to quickly get back on track, with the team losing eight of 10 before winning Tuesday.

“When he's going well, he's not really thinking about his mechanics and he's got a rhythm,” Roberts said before the game. “When he's not and he's searching, the game kind of comes to a standstill.”

Roberts can easily tell when Snell is in command on the mound.

“There’s a little swagger," the manager said. "There’s a little kind of standing a little taller.”

Snell made three rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City and another for Single-A Ontario, going 0-0 with a 3.09 ERA. He struck out 19 batters for a 14.7 strikeout-per-inning rate.

“Coming back from rehab and to kind of feel your way into the middle of a season is really difficult,” Roberts said.

The 33-year-old left-hander had a 2.35 ERA last season, his first with Los Angeles after signing a $182 million, five-year deal. He helped the Dodgers win a second straight World Series championship, with three wins and a 3.18 ERA in six postseason games, including eight scoreless innings in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

In other moves Tuesday, the team transferred reliever Blake Treinen to the 60-day IL. The 38-year-old right-hander has been out since June 20 while recovering from elbow inflammation. Roberts said he has not experienced a setback.

Left-hander Charlie Barnes was sent down a day after he was added, but didn't appear in the series opener against the Royals. Barnes went 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA in four appearances for the Dodgers.

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