A struggling Snell became an October ace for the Dodgers

As he got hot in September, so did the rest of the rotation — momentum that has L.A. on brink of a title

- BY JACK HARRIS

THE DODGERS had pitching depth, but Snell was the bona fide ace they coveted over the winter.

(GINA FERAZZI Los Angeles Times)

For much of the year, the Dodgers' starting rotation felt broken.

In large par because the pitcher acquired to be its anchor was struggling to find himself.

It's easy to forget now, with Blake Snell in the midst of a historic October performance that has helped lead the Dodgers back to the World Series. But for most of his debut season in Los Angeles, the two-time Cy Young Award winner and $182-million offseason signing was grappling with frustration, enduring what he described recently as "the hardest year of my career."

First, there was well-documented early adversity: A shoulder problem that Snell quietly pitched through in two underwhelming starts at the beginning of the campaign, before sidelining him on the injured list for the next four months.

Then, there was an ordeal Snell detailed last week for the first time: In late August, on the same day his wife, Haeley, gave birth to the couple's second child, Snell got so sick in the hospital that he fainted, was taken to the emergency room, and kept overnight hooked up to IV fluids.

"This is awful," he thought to himself then.

Which now has made his dominant postseason including an 0.86 ERA in his first three playoff outings, and a scheduled Game 1 start in the World Series on Friday night all the more gratifying.

"It's been a lot," Snell told The Times last week while reflecting on a difficult season now primed for a triumphant final act. "But that's what this is all about. Find the best in yourself. Fight through all the doubt, the bull-. And figure it out."