HOUSTON — It’s another case of “Tall Guy Back.”
Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow left his start after one inning on Wednesday afternoon when a familiar pain shot through his lower back. The 6-foot-8 Glasnow said the back spasms have been a regular occurrence since he got a “growth spurt” as a teenager, popping up at “random.”
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“It kind of just gives out,” he said of the spasms, which hit as he was warming up for the second inning against the Houston Astros. “I’ve gotten it since high school. Being tall, I guess. I get it a couple times a year.
“Just a warm-up pitch and it gave out. I tried to throw another one and it just was like too hard to bend over. But it’s not too serious. I’ve had this a few times. Just one of those things where it’s thrown out. Once it feels better, it feels better. It shouldn’t be too long.”
Glasnow went on the injured list after his back flared up in 2024 and missed a start last September when it happened again, giving it the “TGB” diagnosis.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow will get an MRI when the team returns to Los Angeles on Thursday but he does not anticipate Glasnow going to the IL.
“I think that, given it’s something that’s recurring, and then kind of looking at the history, it hasn’t been an IL situation. It’s been more of, we push him back a couple days, two, three days,” Roberts said.
“I don’t expect it to be an IL situation. I don’t think he does either, and we’ll go from there.”
Glasnow said past MRIs have shown no structural damage and he expects the same thing this time. How quickly he can return depends on how long the pain lingers.
“It’s more like the next few days (will determine that),” he said. “Sometimes it’s longer, sometimes it’s shorter. But it doesn’t feel too bad right now. It’s never too long. Just more about however much time I do take off, I have to build back up.
“I’m not super worried about it. But we’ll see.”
Glasnow had been pitching very well this season. Through seven starts, he had a 3-0 record, 2.72 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 49 strikeouts in 39⅔ innings. He passed 1,000 career strikeouts before leaving Wednesday’s start.
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The Dodgers have another reason not to panic over Glasnow’s back spasms. Already using a six-man rotation, the Dodgers will get Blake Snell back soon. The left-hander is scheduled to make his final rehab start with Class-A Ontario on Saturday and could join the starting rotation the following week.
STEWART RETURNS
Right-hander Brock Stewart was activated from the IL before Wednesday’s game. Stewart made eight appearances on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment as he returns from shoulder surgery last September.
Acquired at the trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins last year, Stewart made just four appearances before being shut down with a shoulder injury. He underwent surgery for the second time in a year. The 2024 surgery was an arthroscopic procedure. Last fall’s surgery was much more involved. He had a bone spur shaved off, a clavicle resection, his acromion bone (in the scapula) was flattened and a bursa sac was removed.
He pitched the ninth inning against the Astros on Wednesday, his first major-league action since last August, and retired the side in order with two strikeouts.
In order to clear a roster spot for Stewart, left-hander Jake Eder was returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Eder made four appearances for the Dodgers and allowed one run on three hits in four innings.
REHAB REPORT
Right-hander Brusdar Graterol made the second appearance on his minor-league rehabilitation assignment with OKC on Tuesday night.
Graterol retired the first two batters he faced on ground outs but then ran into trouble. He allowed three hits including a home run and left after throwing 27 pitches.
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Thursday.
Braves (LHP Chris Sale, 6-1, 2.14 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 2-1, 5.23 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
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