PHILADELPHIA — This is not the kind of flashback to 2024 the Dodgers want.

But after last year’s season-long run of injuries to their starting pitchers, there was a certain deja vu feeling Sunday when they placed left-hander Blake Snell on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

Snell started throwing a bullpen session Sunday morning but experienced pain in his shoulder, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. After cutting the session short, he met with pitching coach Mark Prior, GM Brandon Gomes and head trainer Thomas Albert. Shortly after, the roster move was announced.

“He started his bullpen and experienced some soreness,” Roberts said. “We just felt right there, you’re going to miss a start. We can backdate the three days. I don’t know who we’re bringing, but obviously someone will make his start on Tuesday.”

The Dodgers will actually need starting pitchers on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s spot will come up Wednesday. But that would give him just four days’ rest since his start Friday in Philadelphia, and the Dodgers are committed to keeping him (and Roki Sasaki) on a once-a-week schedule. Yamamoto and Sasaki will pitch at home Friday and Saturday.

Last season, the Dodgers had 17 different pitchers start at least one game, including multiple ‘openers’ in bullpen games. Thirteen of those pitchers spent time on the injured list (with the Dodgers or another team), and the Dodgers had just three healthy starters (Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler and Yamamoto) in the postseason.

“One day, you feel good with where you’re at, and then the next day you’re scrambling a little bit,” Roberts acknowledged. “That’s part of the marathon of a major league season.”

Snell made two starts, going five innings against the Detroit Tigers in the home opener, then going four innings and giving up five unearned runs against the Braves on Wednesday.

The Dodgers called up right-hander Matt Sauer for the taxi squad on Saturday as a precaution if Sasaki had another short start that taxed the bullpen. Sauer was added to the active roster Sunday with Snell going to the IL.

But the most likely candidates to start Tuesday and Wednesday against the Nationals are left-hander Justin Wrobleski and right-hander Landon Knack. Both were scheduled to start for Triple-A Oklahoma City in the next few days. Bobby Miller started Sunday for OKC and Tony Gonsolin has made just one start on his rehab assignment there and went just 1 2/3 innings.

Snell has been on the IL multiple times in recent years with groin or adductor injuries. He missed time in 2019 with a broken toe and elbow surgery and two weeks with shoulder fatigue in 2018.

“I think (he will miss) two starts,” Roberts said. “If you’re going to go on the IL, certainly where we’re at in the season, two is the floor and we’ll see from there.”

LAST PITCH

The ball that Walker Buehler threw to Will Smith for the final out of the 2024 World Series was auctioned off for $414,000 on behalf of Catching Hope Foundation (the charity started by Smith and his wife, Cara), the Buehler Family Foundation and the Dodgers.

The auction price will be donated to Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts.

“Just talking with Walker, my wife, trying to figure out what the best thing to do was,” Smith said of the idea to donate the ball. “Then the fires happened, and it was kind of a no-brainer. That was what we wanted to do, should do. I’m just grateful for it going for quite a bit of money.”

Smith said he was impressed by how much the ball went for.

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “We had appraisals that were all over the map. It’s really hard to tell.”

Smith could have kept the ball as a personal memento. But he said it wasn’t hard to give it up.

“Not really,” he said. “I’m not a guy who collects a lot of stuff. That was not too hard for me.”

PHILLIPS REHAB

Right-hander Evan Phillips (shoulder) made his second rehab appearance for OKC on Sunday, pitching the first inning as an ‘opener’ for Bobby Miller.

Phillips faced four batters, struck out two and gave up a bunt single.