Tyler Glasnow was in uncharted waters on Sunday afternoon. Yesterday was the 133rd game of his big-league career. Only two times prior had he completed eight innings.
With the game out of reach, manager Dave Roberts opted to send Glasnow back out there for the eighth inning. His pitch count was still relatively low, but it was a little surprising to see him turn to Glasnow with a 10-run cushion, especially considering Dave’s track record.
Glasnow got into a little bit of trouble, as he loaded the bases with two outs. With his pitch count nearing 100, Roberts could have easily brought in a reliever. Instead, he opted to leave Glasnow in with the chance to finish the inning.
It turned out to be the right call.
Glasnow needed only three pitches to strike out Tyrone Taylor, including a 96-mph fastball to get him swinging on his 101st and final pitch.
“If I were to give up runs in the last inning it leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” Glasnow said to reporters. “Glad I was able to get out of the inning… Trying to get out of innings without runs. Some innings I’m going to have my pitch count up. When things are going well I have a low pitch count. Trying to control damage control. Keeping each inning as efficient as I can.”
Glasnow finished his day with one of the best starts of his career. He tossed eight scoreless innings, tying his career high in innings pitched. It was only his second career start with 10+ strikeouts and zero walks. Both of those outings have actually come this month.
Speaking of those two starts, he’s in some pretty special company. Only a handful of Dodgers pitchers have had starts like this in a single season. Here are the number of starts with 7+ IP, 0 ER, 0 BB & 10+ K in a single season in Dodgers history
4 - Clayton Kershaw (2015)
3 - Sandy Koufax (1965)
2 - Tim Leary (1988), Walker Buehler (2019), Tyler Glasnow (2024)
Oh, it’s only April.
Based on Game Score, a metric that Baseball Reference uses to determine how great an outing was, Glasnow’s score of 78 was tied for the fourth best of his career. Over the last few weeks, he’s had two of the best starts of his career. Did I mention that it’s only April?
Seeing Glasnow shove was definitely an encouraging sign considering his last outing. He got roughed up, allowing six runs in five innings. Following that outing it was revealed it was dealing with a little bit of a sickness. Following yesterday’s game, he also revealed it was battling through the bug in Minnesota as well, which was when he struck out a career-high 14.
Sunday’s performance was huge, considering the state of the Dodgers. They were riding a three-game losing streak and were on the verge of being swept. Their bullpen was also pretty taxed, as they’ve had to rely heavily on relievers the past week.
“Today we were in the middle of it as far as workload with the bullpen and going into an off-day to give our guys a chance to reset was huge.” Roberts said to reporters.
I seriously don’t think you could have asked for a better outing considering the circumstances. Sure, a no-hitter would have been nice but we won’t get too greedy.
Through six starts, Glasnow has a 2.92 ERA and an even better 2.65 xERA. His FIP is 2.96 with an xFIP of 2.66. He’s striking out 30.6 percent of the batters he’s faced while his walk percentage (6.3%) is his lowest since 2019.
Glasnow had high expectations coming over to the Dodgers. He’s managed to exceed them through the first month of the season.
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