Tyler Glasnow faces early trouble as Dodgers lose for fourth time in five games

The Dodgers had their best pitcher in Tyler Glasnow, the 6-foot-1 right-hander who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in December and signed a five-year, $136.5 million extension to be the team’s ace.

They had their most dangerous hitter at the plate for the game’s most critical moment, Shohei Ohtani, the two-time American League Most Valuable Player who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract in December to boost what was expected. one of the most lethal lineups in baseball.

Neither man won the 6-4 loss to the Washington Nationals before 42,677 at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, the team’s fourth loss in five games.

Glasnow, who entered with a 3-0 record and 2.25 ERA, gave up six earned runs and eight hits, including two homers, in five innings, striking out five and walking two, and suffered his first loss as a Dodger.

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Ohtani had a chance to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh when, with the Dodgers trailing 6-3, he stepped to the plate against Nationals right-hander Hunter Harvey with two scored after James Outman’s leadoff single to left field and Mookie Betts’ two out single to right.

Ohtani hit the ball on the nose, sending a 98 mph line drive to center field but well within reach of Jacob Young, who sprinted toward the gap in left-center for an inning-ending catch.

Glasnow defeated the Minnesota Twins with his fastball in his previous start on April 9, a seven-inning, no-run, three-hit, 14-strikeout effort in which he induced 12 swing hits and 12 called strikes among his 45 hits. four seams. .

His fastball velocity (96.2 mph) on Monday was virtually identical to his season average of 156.3 mph, but he was hardly dominant at the plate, inducing three swinging strikes and 12 strikes scored among his 47 balls quickly.

Washington leader C.J. Abrams hinted at the type of night it would be for Glasnow when he hit the first pitch of the game, a 95.5 mph fastball, to right center for a double. Abrams took third on the ground and scored on a wild pitch.

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The Dodgers scored single runs in the first (Ohtani and Freddie Freeman singles, Will Smith sacrifice fly) and second (Max Muncy double, Chris Taylor sacrifice fly) innings off Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker, who was making his major league debut, to take a 2-1 lead.

But Abrams led off the third with a towering home run to right center, his fourth of the season, and Jesse Winker doubled to left and scored on Joey Gallo’s RBI double to right for a 3-2 Washington lead.

Glasnow gave up a single to Winker and a two-out walk to Gallo in the fifth. He was one pitch away from escaping the jam when he dropped a full-count slider up and over the plate to Luis Garcia Jr., who hit a three-run home run — his first of the season — to left field for a 6-2 nationals lead.

Ohtani reached on a catcher’s inference to lead off the sixth, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Smith’s groundout to cut Washington’s lead to 6-3. Teoscar Hernández doubled with two outs in the eighth and scored on Muncy’s RBI single to right to make it 6-4.

Players from both teams gathered around the Jackie Robinson statue in the center field square on Monday afternoon to mark the 77th anniversary of the Hall of Fame Dodgers infielder breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947, with speeches from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Nationals manager Dave Martinez, former Dodgers slugger Reggie Smith and renowned sports sociologist and civil rights activist Harry Edwards.

“As we talk about the Dodgers, doing something that is bigger than ourselves, living a life that is more important than ourselves, there is no one who exemplifies that better than Jackie Robinson,” Roberts said. “He had a huge burden on his life to be a professional baseball player, but to take on all this negativity, this hatred towards him, his wife, his children, and still persevere…it was incredible.”

Martinez said Robinson “exemplifies what it means to have strength, courage and passion. What he endured was incredible. He had the dignity to do what he did when everyone had his back. This is difficult to do. As you all know this game is quite difficult. What he did back then, I couldn’t imagine being in that situation.”

Release plans

Right-hander Kyle Hurt, who pitched in two-inning stints for triple-A Oklahoma City, joined the Dodgers on Monday and was expected to be activated this week, likely to start a bullpen game on Tuesday or Wednesday night. -Friday, Roberts said. .

Top pitcher Landon Knack is also expected to be called up this week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak publicly, to start or pitch as a reliever.

If all goes well for Walker Buehler at the start of Thursday’s rehab — meaning the right-hander pitches five innings or more and throws 80-90 pitches, “there’s a real conversation about whether he would join us or not.” [next week],” Roberts said. Buehler is recovering from a second Tommy John surgery and has not played since June 2022.

Right-hander Ricky Vanasco, who pitched seven seasons in the minor leagues without appearing in a major league game, was called up before Monday, and right-hander JP Feyereisen was optioned back to triple-A.

Rehabilitation Report

Jason Heyward is feeling some residual pain from the tightness in his lower back that sent him to the injured list on April 3, and Roberts said the veteran right fielder would need to go on a minor league rehab assignment “given the time off that he had and will have,” said Roberts.

“Jason will be back doing some baseball activities. He is heading in the right direction when it comes to feeling better. … I still believe it will be short-term from here, but I don’t know what the timeline will be.”

An MRI test on Emmet Sheehan’s injured forearm revealed no structural damage, and the right-hander, who has been held out of pitching twice since the start of spring training, said he hopes to begin pitching again “soon,” perhaps in next week or two. But Roberts said Sheehan was still “a long way away” from a possible return.

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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.