When Tyler Glasnow left the mound last week at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, because of leg cramps, it was a dreary reminder of the injury struggles he has endured with the Dodgers.
Glasnow missed the postseason, and consequently the Dodgers’ World Series title run, after an elbow sprain last season. After four starts in 2025, was he in danger of seeing his season derailed again?
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On Sunday, Glasnow suffered a setback of a more serious variety. Warming up before the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates — after giving up back-to-back solo home runs in the first — he doubled over to his side after releasing his last pitch. Manager Dave Roberts rushed out to the pitcher’s mound, followed by a trainer.
Glasnow’s day was done. The team announced he left because of right shoulder discomfort.
Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow walks to the dugout after leaving Sunday’s game with discomfort in his right shoulder. (Robert Hanashiro / For The Times)
Clearly frustrated as he spoke to the media in front of his locker, Glasnow said he felt something in his shoulder grab during his warmup throws. He said the cause was likely the mechanical changes he’d been tweaking and tinkering with to prolong arm health.
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“[I’m] just making a lot of changes, trying to figure out a way to stay healthy,” Glasnow said. “I think some of the changes led to other things kind of taking over, and I’m just at this point, I’m just trying to figure out what to do. It’s just extremely frustrating.”
The Dodgers overcame the departure, collecting nine runs and 14 hits to win 9-2 and claim the series over the Pirates. Often used as a bulk relief pitcher, Ben Casparius took over and excelled — tossing 3⅔ innings no-run ball, striking out five to help bridge the gap to the rest of the bullpen that combined for eight scoreless innings.
Pirates starting pitcher Bailey Falter, who entered Sunday with a 5.19 earned-run average, faltered Sunday. The Dodgers (18-10) tagged Falter for six runs (four earned) and forced Pittsburgh (11-18) to move to the bullpen in the fifth after Teoscar Hernández hit his 200th career home run — a solo shot for his eighth of the season — to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead in the fifth.
Andy Pages also continued to mash at the plate. The Cuban outfielder entered the series hitting .183 and left his 10-for-12 barrage against the Pirates with a .277 batting average. Pages collected at least three hits in each game. He had…