Tyler Glasnow shined with a career performance as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Tuesday.
The right-hander showed how dominant he can be when it all clicks, tying a career high with 14 strikeouts over seven shutout innings. Doing so in just 88 pitches also flashed Glasnow’s efficiency and pure stuff that induced plenty of chase.
Glasnow lowered his season ERA to 2.25, with a slim .133 batting average allowed. The 30-year-old improved his record to 3-0, while earning some praise from Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, per Patrick Donnelly of MLB.com:
“If he’s executing pitches the way he did today, he probably beats any team in baseball on any given night,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I don’t say that lightly. I don’t know if I’ve ever said that about more than two or three guys that I’ve really seen in the last few years.”
Ryan Jeffers also spoke highly of Glasnow’s dominant performance:
“It’s one of those days where you tip your cap,” Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “He was better than all of us today.”
Glasnow went with a heavy mix of fastballs and sliders, topping out at 98.3 mph on his four-seamer that otherwise averaged 96.2 mph. The outing also was the first shutout start of his Dodgers career.
The Dodgers have sorely needed a frontend ace since the early parts of last season, and Glasnow has stepped into a situation where he can be exactly that.
His current expected ERA of 1.96 places Glasnow in the 90th percentile, coupled with his 100th percentile pitching run value, has the Southern California native among baseball’s best.
Tyler Glasnow off to strong start
Glasnow’s four-seam fastball carries a run value of six, which is tied for best pitch in Major League Baseball with Corbin Burnes, who has a dominant cutter.
Tuesday’s start maintained the level of confidence that many already had with Glasnow, in that he can rely on a three-pitch mix. Glasnow’s slider was his co-pilot, to which he didn’t allow a hit on the 28 thrown against the Twins.
Since joining the Dodgers, his fastball usage has returned to the level in which Glasnow relied on it from 2022 and prior, which is around 54%.
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