LOS ANGELES – Tyler Glasnow is far too familiar with what he is going through again.
“It su-u-ucks,” he said, drawing out the word for emphasis. “It’s the worst. It’s super frustrating. It’s happened so many times at this point. I don’t know. It sucks. That’s about all I can say.”
Glasnow left his start at Houston on May 6 after just one inning. His back had tightened up on him, spasms making it impossible for him to extend through his full pitching motion.
Glasnow had felt it before, had spent time on the injured list with the injury before. Like every other time, he was optimistic the symptoms would subside quickly and he could get back to pitching.
Six and a half weeks later, he has twice started a throwing program only to have to shut it down when he tried to ramp it up. Injections “never really helped me, to be honest.”
“It was never fully gone,” Glasnow said of those aborted attempts to advance beyond throwing on flat ground. “I was just, ‘I’ve got to get going.’ … But now it’s the best it’s been feeling by far. I should have just waited before probably. But I was feeling good and I wanted to get going. When I initially did it, I thought it wasn’t going to be long. I’ve had it way worse than this. But I probably pushed at it too much.”
Glasnow is aware he has a long and checkered injury history but the back issue “is the worst because I keep doing it. It makes it more frustrating.”
Glasnow has tried to adjust his workouts to strengthen his back or other areas to take pressure off that area, trying “every sort of philosophy you can think of,” But his 6-foot-8 frame puts pressure on his lower back every time he delivers a pitch.
“My extension is my problem,” Glasnow said. “It’s good for pitching and it’s hard to hit. But it’s not the best for my body.”
Read more Men’s College World Series: Oklahoma thumps North Carolina in Game 1
The Dodgers went into Saturday with the best record in baseball despite Glasnow and his rotation-mate Blake Snell being sidelined for weeks. Last year, the pair also spent weeks on the Injured List but were ready to go in the postseason, each coming up big for the Dodgers on their way to a championship.
Glasnow is trying to see that same big picture now as he approaches another attempt at starting his throwing program.
“Sort of,” he said. “At the beginning I don’t want to because I want to go pitch, I want to have a full season. I was feeling really good. My mechanics were good. Pitching-wise, it’s as good as I’ve felt. So it was really hard in the beginning.
“I want to get back to throwing and get going. I just have to make sure those symptoms are gone and I’m not going to hurt it again. The second time, it became more about the overall big picture. That doesn’t mean for me I’m just going to sit down and take my time. I definitely can’t sit out any more than I’m supposed to. It’s driving me (flipping) crazy.”
RELIEF MOVES
Before the game Saturday, the Dodgers placed Blake Treinen on the injured list with elbow inflammation and recalled right-hander Chayce McDermott from Triple-A.
Treinen pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two and getting credit for the win in the Dodgers’ comeback Friday night. Overall, he has a 3.52 ERA in 29 appearances this season.
Meanwhile, Brock Stewart checked the final box in his rehab assignment, pitching on back-to-back days for Class-A Ontario. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Stewart could be activated from the IL as soon as Monday.
UP NEXT
Orioles (RHP Brandon Young, 5-2, 3.18 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 3-4, 4.76 ERA), Sunday, 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
Read more World Cup: Deniz Undav’s 2nd goal gets Germany past Ivory Coast