A night of two halves in Los Angeles
Tyler Glasnow was untouchable through five innings. Not a hit allowed. Then it all flipped. Two straight singles, a sacrifice fly, and the no-hitter was gone in the sixth inning Thursday night in the Dodgers’ final home game of the regular season.
San Diego went on to win 4-2. Los Angeles finished 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Nine wasted chances, left stranded. That stings, even with nothing directly on the line in the standings on this particular night.
Glasnow was pulled after his sixth inning, with no need to push it any further. His manager wanted him leaving on a high before October, not testing the limits of an arm that has to hold up through the postseason.
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The bye was sealed anyway
Because the loss changed nothing that mattered. Later that same Thursday, Cincinnati beat Atlanta. The upshot: the NL West title and a first-round bye belong to the Dodgers, no Wild Card detour required. Los Angeles can now get ready for October without sweating the result of its last regular-season game.
As for Glasnow, he leaves with some real encouragement. His five hitless innings back up the view that his stuff was sharp, according to those at Chavez Ravine. Not a bad way for the right-hander to head into the playoffs, where he figures to be a key part of the October rotation.
One bigger concern remains
There is, though, a more worrying issue than Thursday night’s score: the Dodgers have struggled against quality teams since the All-Star break. And October is full of those kinds of opponents. The bye does nothing to fix that. Los Angeles has two weeks to find an answer before the real business begins.
The Padres, meanwhile, keep rolling into the stretch run. This win in Los Angeles strengthens San Diego’s push for a Wild Card spot, with the margins still razor-thin among several National League teams as the regular season winds down.
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