Padres place Snell on IL with groin strain amid playoff push

The San Diego Padres placed left-hander Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list with a left adductor groin strain, the club announced Wednesday.

Snell exited his last start early after tweaking his groin Sunday in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 2018 AL Cy Young winner has posted a 4.20 ERA with 170 strikeouts over 128 2/3 innings (27 starts) in his first season playing for the Padres following a blockbuster trade with the Tampa Bay Rays during the offseason.

San Diego signed veteran right-hander Vince Velasquez to take Snell's spot in the rotation for a series coming up against the St. Louis Cardinals, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

The Padres enter Wednesday's action one game behind the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot in the NL.