PITTSBURGH — Tyler Glasnow says he lives in his own “bubble” from start to start, one outing not really affecting his preparation for the other.
That bubble is thick enough that he didn’t realize the difference this week. Glasnow will start Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, making it his first start this season on “regular” rest – four days off between starts.
Glasnow thought he had already pitched on the standard four days of rest this season, but only three Dodgers starters have – Gavin Stone (twice), James Paxton and Bobby Miller (once each).
“I think the last couple years the (Tampa Bay) Rays did that a lot too so I developed a routine around whatever,” Glasnow said of getting extra rest between starts. “It’s just an extra day baked in. But as far as how my arm feels, I feel like after three days I’m always back to normal.”
The last time Stone and Paxton made their starts on the standard four days of rest, those starts were cut short. Paxton was limited to three innings and 50 pitches in his start against the New York Mets. Stone was pulled after five innings and 75 pitches in his start against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
The same abundance of caution will not be in play for Glasnow’s start on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“I’m not going to go into it of that mind,” Roberts said. “It’s the last day of a six-game set. He’s our ace. Yeah, it’s short rest. But I’m going to read and react. It’s not going to be kind of where James or with Gavin shorten them up a little bit. It’s kind of – let Tyler go do what he does and help us win a game.”
Glasnow said there has never been a discussion since joining the Dodgers about handling his workload carefully. The Dodgers did have that discussion with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and they are committed to keeping his work as close to his once-a-week schedule in Japan as possible.
“I think, sitting here, a priority is to make sure Yoshi stays on his extra rest,” Roberts said recently. “I don’t see that changing even through October. I think Tyler is a guy at some point, you’ve got to get him a couple, a handful of regulars (fifth-day starts) which is certainly down the road this season.”
Glasnow said there is no need for that even to be a discussion.
“I don’t think we even need to. That’s super cool with me,” he said. “I feel like when you are a starting pitcher you just always assume you’re going to be on a five-day (schedule). Given the circumstances now, I’m on it. But I’m always trying to be ready for a five-day. So if they need me to go five in a row on a five-day, that would be no problem.”
Glasnow figures to eclipse his career high in innings pitched long before then. He has already thrown 80 in 13 starts this season. He threw a career-high 120 last season.
“I think I just had so much of the pre-injury stuff before, my arm was in such bad shape from the three years before when I probably should have gotten surgery, that now that it’s fixed – it just feels normal,” he said. “Like in the minor leagues I never got hurt and it just feels like it’s kind of back to normal – as opposed to always struggling at some point.”
NEW YORK SPECIAL
The Dodgers and New York Yankees renew one of the oldest rivalries in Major League Baseball with a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. The three games will each be televised nationally – by Apple TV+ on Friday, FOX (Ch. 11) on Saturday and ESPN on Sunday, a reflection of the power of the marquee matchup.
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“There’s a lot special,” Roberts said of the Dodgers-Yankees meeting. “You could argue that they’re probably the most storied sports franchises – the history of championships, the old Dodgers’ Brooklyn days when we were there to now the East-West, the superstars currently, obviously Shohei here, Soto over there, all the superstars, bringing the old generations back with the young, hip generation – it brings everybody in play. It’s going to be a fun series.”
The balanced schedule adopted last year has added thousands of miles to the Dodgers’ annual travel – but Roberts said he thinks it’s worth it if it brings matchups like this weekend’s more frequently.
“It is (just another three regular-season games) – on the calendar,” he said. “But if you can’t appreciate Yankees-Dodgers – if you’re wearing a uniform or not wearing a uniform – then really what are you doing this for? They all count the same. But I think if you have any ounce of love for the game it’s got to mean more, doesn’t it?”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 6-2, 3.32 ERA) at Yankees (RHP Cody Poteet, 2-0, 2.45 ERA), Friday, 4:05 p.m., Apple TV+, SportsNet LA, 570 AM
