The big man in Tampa Bay’s rotation has struggled with the little things, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have pounced on seemingly every mistake Tyler Glasnow has made.
Glasnow allowed four runs in five innings as the Rays fell 4-2 in Game 5 Sunday night, taking his second loss in this World Series. He threw a Series record three wild pitches, allowed his record ninth homer of the postseason, and despite overpowering stuff, never took control against a Dodger team that has exposed his few flaws while moving within one win of the title.
Lanky and strong at 6-foot-8, Glasnow runs his fastball over 100 mph with electric rise and snaps his curveball violently toward the earth - a devastating 1-2 punch that rivals any in the game. Since being swindled away from the Pirates in a 2018 trade, the 27-year-old has looked the part of a knockout ace. And yet, his ERA through six postseason starts is a staggering 6.28.
“I think it’s definitely not my greatest month of baseball, that’s for sure,” he said.
The right-hander with strikeout stuff has missed plenty of bats, punching out 15 over his two Fall Classic starts. But he has been plagued by shaky command, a weakness against the running game and perhaps because he lacks a reliable third pitch.
“What hurt him is the talent of the Dodgers lineup more than anything,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “They’re just really, really talented.”
In Game 1, Glasnow couldn’t corral his curveball, choking it repeatedly in the dirt, and the Dodgers essentially stopped swinging at it. Glasnow fiddles with a changeup but rarely uses it, and without another pitch to worry about, Los Angeles honed in on his fastball the second time through the order.
The Dodgers stayed in the strike zone, connected on a few heaters at the right time and charged six runs to Glasnow over 4 1/3 innings while drawing six walks en route to an 8-3 win.
Glasnow struggled with his curve again in Game 5, although this time, he often missed up.
Mookie Betts opened the game with a double on a 3-2 fastball after taking two breaking pitches that missed the zone. Corey Seager then caught a hanging curve and ripped it for an RBI single and a fast 1-0 lead.
That’s when Glasnow really went wild. Seager took second after Glasnow threw a curve in the dirt and got third on a bouncing 101 mph fastball. The two wild pitches tied a Series record for most in an inning by one pitcher. Seager scored on an infield hit by Cody Bellinger.
Joc Pederson led off the second with a home run, and Glasnow unfurled his record third wild pitch in the third inning, another curve that bounced short of home plate.
Keeping baserunners in place has been a problem all Series for Glasnow. His slow delivery makes him an easy target for potential base-stealers, and Los Angeles swiped three bags against him in Game 1. With the wild pitches, the Dodgers carved out an easier way around the diamond in Game 5, although Austin Barnes nearly took a bag in the second inning, too.
Glasnow escaped the third by striking out Bellinger and getting Chris Taylor to ground out, and briefly showed just how dominant he can be during a stretch when he retired eight straight.
Max Muncy interrupted that in the fifth, sitting on a fastball and crushing it for a no-doubt homer and a 4-2 lead.
“Just predictable pitches,” Glasnow said.
Of the nine homers Glasnow has allowed this postseason, eight have come via fastball. As it turns out, even otherworldly stuff can’t conquer big league batters if they’re easily able to guess what’s coming.
“Just not getting ahead of guys,” Glasnow said. “I think a lot of heaters are living out in the middle of the plate. I think, too, when a hitter can eliminate other pitches and just understand I’m going to throw a heater, it’s easier to time up.
“I think a lot of it is just getting ahead. Just predictable pitches.”
Glasnow finished out the fifth on his 102nd pitch and was pulled after allowing six hits and three walks, striking out seven.
“Credit to Glas for kind of calming himself a little bit in the moment and finding a way to get through five,” Cash said.
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