Tyler Glasnow made his final Cactus League start on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, delivering another strong performance.
The right-hander allowed just one run on two hits over three innings, striking out six and walking one. His only blemish came in the second inning when former Dodgers teammate Miguel Vargas took him deep for a solo home run.
This spring, Glasnow has surrendered just three runs across six innings while tallying 10 strikeouts and one walk. His success comes in the wake of offseason adjustments to his delivery, which have already shown promising results.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the adjustments have allowed Glasnow to pitch more freely, via Doug Padilla of the Southern California News Group:
“I think with Tyler, my opinion is he gets too mechanical at times and not let his natural athleticism and compete kind of drive his outing,” Roberts said. “I think this spring, that’s where he’s been. He’s freed himself up a lot more this spring.”
Glasnow’s first season with the Dodgers came to a premature end due to right elbow tendinitis that prevented him from pitching again after Aug. 11.
Roberts noted that Glasnow is recovering better after starts and does not feel any discomfort:
“The main thing with Tyler is after starts, and sometimes during starts, he didn’t feel comfortable with his arm and there was some residual (discomfort),” Roberts said. “So right now, it’s really free and easy and he’s recovering really well.”
Glasnow worked with several specialists to correct his spine angle, which should help him avoid putting additional stress on his elbow.
The 31-year-old is expected to make two more appearances before the Dodger Stadium home opener against the Detroit Tigers on March 27.
The first will come in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants or Hanshin Tigers in Japan. That should be followed by Glasnow facing the Los Angeles Angels in the exhibition Freeway Series when the Dodgers return to Southern California.
Tyler Glasnow pleased with mechanics
Glasnow noted that he was pleased with his mechanics after his first Spring Training appearance against the Cincinnati Reds earlier this month. “It felt really good. I didn’t think about it,” Glasnow said.
“That’s kind of more for practice. I think Dave hit on it, but a theme of I’m going to try and work on it but when I go out to the game, just be as athletic as I can. I looked at a little video, and it looked good. I didn’t think about it. Mechanics felt solid.”
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