ATLANTA — In right-hander Tyler Glasnow’s first game back from the injured list, he pushed through bad luck, made an adjustment between innings, and showed how big of an impact he can make when healthy.
Even so, the Dodgers fell to the Braves 4-3 on Tuesday, ending a six-game winning streak, tied for their season high.
“Even with all the talent that we have on our roster, [Glasnow] might surpass it with his raw stuff, and the ability to shut down any team at any time,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said before the game. “Do we expect that to be Day 1, today, who knows? We’re facing, obviously, one of the best teams in baseball. But it’s really good to have him back because he changes a lot of things with our personnel.”
It was Glasnow’s first start since May 6 in Houston, when back spasms cut his outing short after one inning. He’d been pitching so well to start the year (2.72 ERA in seven starts) that the Dodgers hoped he could avoid the IL even for precautionary reasons.
Instead, he had to halt his throwing progression multiple times for flare-ups, prolonging his time on the IL.
Misfortune of a different kind followed Glasnow into the first inning Tuesday. He gave up four hits and three runs in that inning, but only one of those hits, Drake Baldwin’s leadoff single, was hit hard. The rest were simply hit where the Dodgers’ defense couldn’t field them.
He finally escaped by striking out Braves No. 7 hitter Mike Yastrzemski, with the help of a successful ABS challenge.
In that 35-pitch first inning, Glasnow threw the kitchen sink at the Braves. But in the second, he simplified.
Glasnow paired down his arsenal to just fastballs (four-seam and sinker), largely up and in, and sliders, mostly down and out for chase. It took him just 13 pitches to strike out the side. He retired the side in order in the third with roughly the same plan of attack.
In the fourth, he started mixing in his knuckle curve again, even ending the inning on that pitch when Austin Riley failed to check his swing on a curve that broke into the dirt, for strike three.
After that first inning, Glasnow only gave up two more hits. And in five innings, he had seven strikeouts.
He left with the score tied. The bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup evened the score, with RBI singles from Alek Thomas, Hunter Feduccia and Alex Call.
The score remained knotted until the eighth inning, when Dodgers left-hander Tanner Scott gave up a leadoff double to Matt Olson — the first extra-base hit of the game — and a two-out RBI single to Ozzie Albies to give the Braves the lead.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani struck back with a triple off the left-field wall to lead off the ninth inning. But the Dodgers stranded him there against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.
Glasnow’s return was a major step for the Dodgers as they assemble their postseason pitching staff. The next will be Ohtani’s return to pitching, which could happen as soon as this weekend.
Ohtani is scheduled to throw a bullpen Thursday or Friday, Prior said. Then Ohtani and the Dodgers will finalize next steps. But manager Dave Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Ohtani making a short start Sunday in Detroit.
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