In coldest Dodgers game ever, Tyler Glasnow shows latest sign of growth

DENVER –– This time a year ago, Tyler Glasnow failed a bad-weather test.

On April 6 of last season, the Dodgers right-hander was rolling right along through the first two innings of a start at Citizens Bank Park against the Phillies.

But then a rainstorm moved in, Glasnow lost his composure, and he failed to record an out in what became a disastrous five-run meltdown.

Such moments marred much of Glasnow’s first two seasons with the Dodgers. He would flash otherworldly potential. He would look like one of the game’s best pitchers. Then something would go wrong –– be it a mechanical flaw, a lack of feel for his throw, or outside factors like a late-spring shower amid a hostile Philadelphia crowd –– and suddenly, the $136.5 million starter would spiral into uncharacteristic form.

That’s why his outing Friday night in Denver against the Rockies was so important.

The competition wasn’t daunting, but the environment sure was.

He was making his first career start in the pitching torture chamber known as Coors Field. He was doing it on a day when snow fell for much of the afternoon, leaving the playing surface far from pristine. And when first pitch arrived, the 35-degree temperature marked the lowest on record in Dodgers’ franchise history.

They were all built-in excuses.

But in seven innings of one-run ball, Glasnow didn’t need them.

Instead, in the latest sign of growth from the 32-year-old All-Star, Glasnow navigated the game with remarkable ease. 

He worked around walks in the first and third innings. He didn’t give up his first hit until the bottom of the fourth. After that, he retired 11 batters in a row as the Dodgers pulled away for an eventual 7-1 victory. He finished with seven strikeouts and no moments of discernible stress.

“I think just feeling good was helpful,” Glasnow said afterward. “On days you feel bad, [the conditions] might affect you a little bit more. But I think today, I just felt good.”

Glasnow has felt good since the start of spring training, beginning this season with more comfort in his delivery than he said he’s had in years.

The injuries that repeatedly derailed his 2024 and 2025 seasons were behind him. The mechanical tweaks he made in search of better health had finally sunk in.

All camp, he talked about throwing “free and easy,” and taking an “external” mindset on the mound that allowed him to simply compete.

As manager Dave Roberts put it before Friday’s game, “he’s a different person for me” compared to a year prior. 

“Some of the things that he can control, he’s really manning right now and got a handle on,” Roberts said. “I think he’s grown exponentially. So I don’t see these that conditions are gonna affect him today.”

If anything, Glasnow joked the cold almost helped him.

“I’m usually super hot and sweaty,” he said, “so it was almost kind of nice.”

Just one more example of his growing self-assurance –– one the Dodgers hope has him primed for a career-best campaign.

“I think in years past, things affected him. He’ll admit that,” Roberts said. “I think right now where he’s at, he’s just put the blinders on and he’s performed. For us, that’s really good to see.”

Indeed, Glasnow acknowledged “I definitely feel different this year compared to last year,” noting that there were times in 2025 that “I just didn’t really feel like myself” as he worked through mechanical tweaks.

“When you pitch a certain way for so long, and then you switch up so many things, you just kind of feel in unfamiliar territory,” he said.

But finally, he and pitching coaches Mark Prior and Connor McGuiness found something leading into the playoffs. 

They adjusted Glasnow’s lower-body alignment. They suggested a mental cue in the way he lets his glove arm lead his throw. And then they watched in October as he took the changes and ran with them, turning in a 1.69 ERA during the team’s World Series run.

Ever since, Glasnow’s confidence has only been amplified. His ability to be “freer” and “more athletic” on the mound has steadily improved.

“I can focus on what I need to focus on,” he said.

Like attacking with his lively 96 mph fastball. Dropping gravity-defying curveballs when he gets ahead in the count. And mixing in the occasional slider and even sinker, a pitch he has added back to his arsenal since arriving in Los Angeles.

With Friday’s gem, Glasnow now has a 3.24 ERA with 29 strikeouts and only six walks in his first four starts this season. Roberts believes those numbers –– while still plenty excellent –– should be even better, insisting they belie the consistent dominance he has shown for much of the year.

If his conquering of Coors Field was any indication, in short time they likely will be.

Where Glasnow melted down in the past, this time he aced his test among the snow.

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