The Los Angeles Dodgers have scratched right-hander Tyler Glasnow from his scheduled start on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles, with Shohei Ohtani stepping in as the unexpected replacement.
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Glasnow reported back tightness during pregame warmups, leading the team to delay his next start by “a few days” with the hope of having him back on the mound “early next week,” according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
The 2024 All-Star has been inconsistent with his command in recent outings, throwing just 112 of 183 pitches for strikes over his last two starts. In his most recent outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he tied a season high with seven innings pitched and 100 total pitches.
Across 14 starts this season, Glasnow is 1-3 with a 3.41 ERA, 81 strikeouts, and a 1.107 WHIP in 68⅔ innings, though he has walked 11.5% of batters faced, indicating persistent control issues. He has also faced multiple injuries in his career, including shoulder inflammation, elbow surgery, and prior ailments to his ankle and back, making the Dodgers’ cautious approach understandable.
Tyler Glasnow has historically found it challenging to pitch a full season, never exceeding 22 starts in a single year. He missed over two months this season with a shoulder injury and nearly two months last season, including the entire postseason, due to elbow issues. Given these setbacks, he has performed well when healthy, posting a 3.02 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 50⅔ innings over nine starts since returning from shoulder inflammation on July 9.
Ohtani was scheduled to start Monday, but instead, he’ll take the ball for his 12th start as a Dodger on Friday. A chest cold forced him to miss his Wednesday start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, though he stayed in the lineup as designated hitter and went 2-for-5 in their 3-0 loss.
The Japanese two-way star is gradually building his pitching workload after nearly a two-year layoff due to a second elbow surgery. He completed five innings for the first time on Aug. 27 against the Cincinnati Reds and posted a 5-1 win in that outing. This season, Ohtani has made 11 starts, compiling a 4.18 ERA while also excelling as a hitter with a .279 average, 46 home runs, and 87 RBIs in 137 games.
Reeling from a brutal sweep at the hands of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, the Dodgers are pinning their hopes on Shohei Ohtani on Friday. If he can go five innings or more, it could be just the shot in the arm their rotation desperately needs.
