ATLANTA -- The Dodgers’ starting rotation received a major boost on Tuesday, with right-hander Tyler Glasnow being activated from the 60-day injured list ahead of their 4-3 series-opening loss to the Braves at Truist Park.
Taking the mound with no set pitch restriction, Glasnow navigated a rocky opening inning before finding his signature rhythm.
The Braves jumped on the right-hander early in the bottom of the first, striking for three runs behind RBI singles from Mauricio Dubón and Michael Harris II, alongside a sacrifice fly by Ozzie Albies.
However, Glasnow quickly settled in by striking out the side in the bottom of the second, getting Austin Riley called out on strikes before securing swinging punchouts on Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin.
Reflecting after the game, Glasnow noted that adjusting his pitch mix was key to turning his night around.
"I think just switching up a little bit," Glasnow said. "I think it was pretty fastball-heavy the first inning. A little bit predictable. Not a ton of hard-hit balls, but it's just how it goes sometimes. But I think coming out in the second, I just felt more in rhythm and my slider was working a lot better. ... The slider felt good today, too. So I just tried to start some guys off with it and throw it in middle counts and just not be so predictable."
After navigating the opening frames, Glasnow escaped fourth-inning damage following an Albies single and a wild pitch by getting Mike Yastrzemski to line out and striking out Riley. He went on to work around a two-out single and stolen base by Ronald Acuña Jr. in the fifth, concluding a five-inning outing with six hits, three earned runs, zero walks and seven strikeouts on 89 pitches.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised his starter's mental toughness and maturity in grinding through the start.
"I thought he was fantastic," Roberts said. "That first inning, obviously, it went long. But I thought all night long, he threw the ball fantastic. ... From the postseason last year, I've seen he's a different person. He really is much more mature. And that's an outing, I think, that a couple of years ago might have gotten away, and I don't think he would have been as efficient getting through the fifth like he did."
For Glasnow, crossing the 80-pitch threshold and escaping jammed innings without physical issue marked the end of a four-month layoff and a successful return to the big leagues.
"It felt like a long time. I think any time you're out that long, just doing rehab the whole time, it definitely sucks," Glasnow admitted. "So it's exciting to be able to get back, but I'm glad, too, my body's in a spot where I felt like I was before. So I'm just glad I feel healthy and my stuff is good."
Glasnow’s return comes at a pivotal moment for Los Angeles. Prior to his injury, the right-hander posted a 2.72 ERA across seven starts. Reinserting him into the mix bolsters a rotation featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Roki Sasaki, with Shohei Ohtani also progressing toward a return to pitching duties.
While his outing answered big-picture questions for the rotation, the game ultimately hinged on late-game execution -- a recurring theme in Los Angeles' fourth one-run contest over the last week.
After Atlanta broke a 3-3 tie on an Albies RBI single in the eighth, Ohtani gave the Dodgers a prime opportunity to respond by leading off the ninth with a triple against Raisel Iglesias. But with the tying run 90 feet away and no outs, Los Angeles failed to capitalize.
Addressing the late-game situational execution, Roberts pointed to the contrast between their recent offensive form and the specific approach required in that ninth-inning spot.
"I think that the last six games, we've been really good as far as the at-bat quality," Roberts said. "I think before that, it was kind of trying to stir stuff up and I thought we just weren't taking good collective at-bats. This is a situation about infield in and just having a clear plan to get the ball up in the hitting zone."
Despite the late-game disappointment, the night's main takeaway remained in the rotation. With his first big league action in nearly four months, Glasnow cleared his final hurdle of recovery, giving the Dodgers exactly the buildup they hoped to see heading into the stretch run.
Despite the loss, Glasnow’s return provided a bright spot for Los Angeles.
Glasnow made his first Major League start since May 6, when lower back spasms forced an early exit against Houston. In a corresponding move, the club optioned right-handed reliever Paul Gervase to Triple-A Oklahoma City.