DENVER — The chilly hardly appeared like pitching climate for Tyler Glasnow. Then once more, just one Dodgers pitcher appeared to take pleasure in the flurry of snow that greeted them Friday afternoon. Emmet Sheehan, a Northeast native, made positive to assemble a snowman atop the visiting dugout rail a day earlier than his scheduled start.
It was 35 levels when the primary pitch was thrown at 6:43 p.m., an evening that in the end was reflective of Glasnow’s growth. He will not be a fan of climate. That a lot was clear 375 days in the past, when a small drizzle in Philadelphia was sufficient to derail a complete outing.
That precipitation amounted to a puddle in comparison with how Coors Field seemed Friday afternoon. The area was cleared in time for the coldest start in recorded franchise history. But there weren’t sufficient handwarmers round to make anybody really feel comfy — even the most popular staff in baseball.
Glasnow won’t like rain. But he didn’t thoughts the chilly.
“It’s not that different,” mentioned Glasnow after delivering seven innings of one-run ball in the Dodgers’ 7-1 romp over the Colorado Rockies. “I don’t know. I’m usually super hot and sweaty, so it’s almost nice. My body temperature is so high to where I went out there and didn’t feel cold, didn’t sweat a ton. It was almost kind of nice.”
Glasnow by no means appeared bothered by the weather. Nor did the remainder of the Dodgers, who are actually 15-4 (the franchise’s greatest start since 1977) after profitable for the eleventh time in 13 video games.
“It was a dry cold,” supervisor Dave Roberts quipped.
Most importantly, Glasnow didn’t crumble. Instead, he bullied a hapless Rockies lineup. It helped that nobody likes to hit in the chilly, both, although the Dodgers nonetheless rolled.
Glasnow gained what Roberts likened to psychological warfare earlier than the sport. The chilly will have an effect on individuals who let it have an effect on them.
“This is going to be like a game of chicken or something,” Roberts mentioned. “This is a mindset game, for me.”
This normally wouldn’t swimsuit Glasnow, who, by his personal admission, normally falls sufferer to overthinking. That made Friday the most recent instance of what the Dodgers have echoed because the spring: this isn’t the identical man.
“He’s a different person, for me,” Roberts mentioned. “He’s grown exponentially.”
Getting so far took time. Injuries have robbed Glasnow of his declare as top-of-the-line pitchers on the planet. Friday marked his first time pitching at this park, in half as a result of he hasn’t been in a position to keep on the sector.
His first season in Los Angeles ended due to elbow hassle, with Glasnow watching his teammates win the World Series with out him. The start of his 2025 threatened to observe an analogous trajectory. He had that meltdown in Philadelphia when it began to drizzle and he proceeded to not report one other out. He left consecutive begins with completely different bodily illnesses and missed greater than two months with shoulder irritation.
“I just didn’t really feel like myself when I’d go out there,” Glasnow mentioned.
Since he’s returned, he’s untangled a few of his psychological and bodily hurdles. Glasnow not solely pitched in October, however pushed himself — he pitched in aid thrice, together with in the decisive World Series Game 7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
That solely bolstered Glasnow’s confidence heading into spring coaching. He isn’t fixating on his supply. Even on an evening the place these mechanics aren’t dialed in, he’s competing. Glasnow didn’t have his greatest stuff Friday. He nonetheless put collectively his greatest night time of the younger season.
“He just wasn’t distracted,” Roberts mentioned. “Nothing was going to affect his performance tonight.”
He’s gained his staff’s and his supervisor’s belief.
That’s nice information for the forgotten All-Star in the Dodgers’ stacked rotation. Glasnow’s expertise has all the time given groups cause to consider there may be extra in there from him. This is likely to be the 32-year-old’s greatest likelihood at placing all of it collectively for a full season.
Nights like Friday confirmed why. Glasnow seemed unbothered. The Rockies’ bats froze in the chilly because of this, mustering simply two hits and 4 baserunners towards Glasnow.
“It’s kind of an advantage to the pitcher, I think,” Glasnow mentioned. “So, I think, whenever it is a cold game, I think about that. They’re gonna be a lot colder than I am, so it worked out.”
What’s extra, Glasnow soaked up seven innings in the primary of a four-game set in Colorado, which fits a good distance.
This was one other step ahead in what the Dodgers hope is a metamorphosis. This may simply be who Glasnow is now.
“With the season, there’s just so many things that are unforeseen, and you’ve just got to be willing to adapt and find ways to get through it,” Roberts mentioned. “I think in years past, things affected him. He’ll admit that. 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.”
