In the span of just eight months, so much had seemingly changed.
Last August, the Dodgers were not yet defending champions, more than two months out from their unlikely run to a World Series title. Veteran pitcher Tyler Glasnow, meanwhile, was in the midst of one of his best seasons, not yet sidelined by the elbow injury that would end his campaign early and rule him out of the playoffs.
Back then, Glasnow was still confident in his health, believing his career-long elbow problems were finally behind him. He was still assured of his abilities, even while battling a prolonged second-half slump. He was still seen as the most dependable name in the team’s starting pitching rotation, too, the potential missing piece in their pursuit of a championship.
Instead, of course, Glasnow became one of the biggest pieces the Dodgers wound up missing last October, after getting shut down in mid-August with elbow tendinitis. His absence from the mound was among the most daunting obstacles of the team’s postseason, leaving an already shorthanded pitching staff in an (almost) impossible spot.
That’s why, even though the Dodgers won the World Series, earning Glasnow his first world championship ring, the 31-year-old right-hander embarked on something of a reinvention this offseason — altering everything from his throwing program, to his pitching grips, to his mental approach before and during starts.
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"I feel really comfortable with what I worked on,” he said. “I've kind of changed a ton of stuff.”
And on Monday night, in his return to a big-league mound eight months after his 2024 season ended prematurely, it all culminated in an auspicious start to his 2025 — as Glasnow pitched five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and only two hits allowed during the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.
"He's one of the best pitchers in the game. We're fortunate to have him,” catcher Will Smith said afterward. “When he needed to make a pitch, he executed it.”
Glasnow was in vintage personal form in his season debut, holding the Braves without a hit until the fifth inning.
He attacked the strike zone with a heavy fastball, touching 98 mph on the radar gun. He snapped off a flurry of swing-and-miss curveballs and sliders, inducing 13 whiffs on just a 79-pitch night. Most important, he integrated the myriad of changes he made this offseason — from alterations in his throwing program, to tweaks on ...
