Blake Snell's surge could be what Giants need to reach postseason

The San Francisco Giants received poor early returns on their massive investment in starter Blake Snell. But the 2023 Cy Young Award winner has delivered major results in the second half of the season, giving the Giants hope that they could sneak into the postseason.

Heading into Thursday's games, the Giants are in fourth in the NL West, 8.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers and 3.5 games out of the final wild-card spot.

In his first six starts, Snell — who the Giants signed to a two-year, $62M deal in the offseason — struggled considerably. Over 23 2/3 innings, he posted a dismal 9.51 ERA and only 31 strikeouts.

Since the start of July, Snell has dominated, posting a stellar 1.55 ERA over six starts. Against the Cincinnati Reds in his first August start, Snell threw his first career no-hitter , the 18th such gem in Giants history.

In Wednesday's 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals, Snell pitched six solid innings, striking out eight, as the Giants earned their ninth win in 12 games.

Over his past six starts, Snell has allowed five runs and 12 hits in 39 innings. In the past three games, he has 34 strikeouts in 21 innings. Still, Snell — who missed time earlier this season with injuries — is only 2-3 with a 4.31 ERA overall.

A change in pitch usage has contributed to his strong starts since the start of July.

Known for heavily relying on his fastball (46.5 percent) and evenly splitting usage among his off-speed pitches (curveball, changeup, slider), Snell has drastically changed his usage. Per Baseball Savant , he has increased his curveball usage from 16 percent to 32.8 percent and reduced his slider usage from 16.4 percent to 7 percent.

With Snell hitting his stride, he could be the catalyst San Francisco needs to make the playoffs.