Dodgers infielders, umpire Nic Lentz and a team staff member check on starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow during the fifth inning Sunday during a road game against the Rangers. Glasnow suffered cramps in the fourth inning and left the game in the fifth. (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
Tyler Glasnow stood on the back of the mound, flexed his right leg to test how it felt, then threw his first pitch of the fifth inning on Sunday afternoon.
In the Dodgers’ 1-0 win against the Texas Rangers, it proved to be the right-hander’s last one of the day.
Though the Dodgers salvaged a series win at Globe Life Field, riding a stout bullpen and eighth-inning sacrifice fly from Freddie Freeman to victory in the series rubber match, they first had to overcome yet another injury concern from Glasnow, who left the game after just four innings with what he later said was cramping in both his legs.
“Ankles, calves, feet. Both sides,” Glasnow said. “After a while, it just gets to the point where it’s fully locked up. I’m not sure why.”
Read more: After offseason changes, Tyler Glasnow has familiar goal with Dodgers: ‘To stay healthy’
The good news for the Dodgers: Glasnow’s issue is not believed to be serious.
Among the many injury problems that have plagued his big-league career, occasional bouts of cramping have been among the most benign.
“We expect him to make his next start on Sunday at home,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So hopefully this is a one-time occurrence.”
Glasnow’s early exit didn’t derail the Dodgers (16-7) either. Instead, a sturdy bullpen came to the rescue once again.
Luis García and Anthony Banda each got two outs after Glasnow’s departure. Rookie standout Ben Casparius collected five more after them, marking his sixth-straight outing of more than one inning.
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman follows through on a sacrifice fly that allowed Will Smith to score on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
Another rookie surprise, left-hander Jack Dreyer, recovered from a leadoff walk in the eighth by retiring his next two batters. Evan Phillips then finished off that inning, before Tanner Scott got his eighth save of the season in the ninth — the game ending when Rangers baserunner Wyatt Langford was tagged out by second baseman Miguel Rojas after popping off the bag on a bang-bang play while trying to steal a base.
The Dodgers’ offense only produced three hits against the Rangers (13-9), but got their lone run in the top of the eighth inning. Will Smith led off with a pinch-hit single, moved to second on a walk from Shohei Ohtani — who was returning to the lineup after missing the previous two games for the birth of his daughter — then advanced all the way home on back-to-back fly balls from Mookie Betts and Freeman.
“It was just a great manufactured inning,” Roberts said.
In the end, the only real question was the severity of Glasnow’s cramping issue — and whether it signaled any reason for future concern given his lengthy history of injuries in the big leagues.
Read more: The Dodgers didn’t just help Tyler Glasnow get healthy, they helped him get better
Glasnow said his legs started bothering him in the third inning. In the fourth, he initially stayed in the game after being checked on the mound by a trainer once. But when the problem persisted into the fifth — his lone pitch that inning was a 93.7 mph fastball, one of his slowest this season — signs of his discomfort were visible again, prompting Roberts and the training staff to remove him from the game.
“I’ve done all the hydration stuff. I do all the supplements,” Glasnow said. “I think we’ll try and figure some stuff out soon. And just hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”
Glasnow had a similar cramping episode last April in Toronto. Though he bounced back from that to complete a strong first half to the season, earning him his first career All-Star selection, he ultimately succumbed to an elbow injury in August that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Roberts wasn’t concerned about Glasnow’s long-term health after Sunday’s game, but did acknowledge a sense of frustration from the 31-year-old veteran — who has a 3.71 ERA in four starts this year, but only 17 total innings pitched.
Dodgers’ Austin Barnes, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and the rest of the team celebrate their 1-0 win over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Sunday. (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
“I’m sure no one’s more frustrated than he is, especially when you’re pitching well,” Roberts said of Glasnow, who had another short start two weeks ago in Philadelphia when he failed to complete the third inning amid a light rain shower.
“But the bullpen has picked him up. And hopefully this one and some other things are behind us and he can give us some length [next] Sunday.”
Given the currently shorthanded state of the Dodgers’ rotation (which is still awaiting the return of Blake Snell and Tony Gonsolin from the injured list) and the heavy early-season workload that has fallen on the bullpen (which leads the majors with 96 ⅔ combined innings this season), the Dodgers will need it.
“It’s not a good feeling, just to have the bullpen throw so many innings this year,” Glasnow said. “But like I said, they’ve done an amazing job, and they helped me out today a lot.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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