by Mark Langill
At 6-foot-8, Tyler Glasnow was easy to spot when the injured pitcher participated in the chorus of obligatory fist bumps, handshakes and backslaps as his teammates marched through each round of the postseason.
There he was in the back row of the impromptu team photo at Yankee Stadium after the clinching game of the World Series, wearing the fresh out-of-the-box championship cap and T-shirt.
Glasnow stood next to Blake Treinen, who posed with a modest Mona Lisa smile of literal relief after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings of a nail-biting 7–6 victory in which the Dodgers erased a 5–0 fifth-inning deficit.
Glasnow easily towered over the player in front of him, the 6-foot-3 Shohei Ohtani, who grinned after capping his historic first year with the Dodgers.
The normally low-key Glasnow raised his left hand high into the air and looked like a giddy politician on stage, waving to his supporters after winning an election.
Glasnow missed the final seven weeks of the 2024 regular season due to right elbow tendinitis. The National League All-Star, who went 8–5 with 3.47 ERA in his first 18 starts, last pitched on Aug. 11 last season.
One year later, Glanow didn’t feel invisible on Thursday when the Dodgers celebrated their National League Division Series victory in four games over the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium. Glasnow crafted six scoreless innings when his team — and a struggling offense — needed him to keep the game close and the bullpen phone quiet, at least for a while.
Technically, there was still a “tomorrow” if the Dodgers lost because of their 2–1 lead in the best-of-five series. But Game 4 felt like an ominous elimination threat for both teams. A potential Game 5 would be played in Philadelphia.
And the Phillies had the momentum from an 8–2 victory in Game 3 in which slugger Kyle Schwarber became only the second left-handed batter to hit a home run over the Right Field Pavilion roof at Dodger Stadium, joining Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, who twice pulled off the feat with the 1969 and 1973 Pirates.
Against Glasnow, the Phillies felt lucky to make contact.
The Newhall native and Hart High School graduate sparkled in his childhood field of dreams. The 3:08 p.m. starting time eventually produced shadows around the plate, giving the right-handed Glasnow and Philadelphia lefty Christopher Sanchez a setting for a classic postseason pitchers’ duel.
Although manager Dave Roberts later revealed Glasnow at times battled cramps, the outward appearance and body language conveyed an ace in control and keeping his cool. Glasnow was methodical in his 83-pitch outing. He struck out eight batters, walked three, and scattered two hits.
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In the Wild Card Series against Cincinnati, Glasnow embraced the role of the “all hands on deck” reliever behind starters Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ohtani. He wasn’t needed when the Dodgers swept the Reds in two games.
In Game 1 at Philadelphia, Glasnow followed Ohtani, who started and pitched six innings. Glasnow contributed 1 2/3 innings in a 5–3 victory.
Game 4 was finally time for Glasnow’s name on the marquee as the starter.
His performance on Wednesday rekindled the memories of a decisive Game 5 Division Series in 1981 when veteran Jerry Reuss and Houston’s Nolan Ryan matched zeroes into the sixth inning a Sunday afternoon in the Southern California sunshine until Los Angeles emerged with a 4–0 victory. That 1981 Dodgers team packed its bags for chilly Montreal, the next stop in a championship journey that also ended at Yankee Stadium.
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Glasnow already has World Series experience with the 2020 Tampa Bay Rays, which lost in six games to the Dodgers in a pandemic world of face coverings, socially distant crowds and a neutral field in Arlington, Texas.
Thursday’s electric atmosphere was what Glasnow envisioned when he joined the Dodgers in 2024 after a trade from the Rays.
“It means everything,” Glasnow said. “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. Not only to play for the Dodgers, but in the postseason in meaningful games.”
Glasnow entered the Dodgers’ pantheon of playoff heroes. The franchise has been riding a streak of 13 postseason appearances since 2013. Their “Built for October” mantra often makes regular-season games feel like a prescribed visit to the gym.
The healthy Glasnow happily jumped on the 2025 Dodger postseason wagon after the team’s final game in Seattle on Sept. 28. This time, he didn’t pack his suitcase like an October tourist, although the smile is also ready in case Glasnow needs to pose for more pictures.
“I couldn’t be more excited for Tyler,” Roberts said. “A little bit on the outside looking in last year and wanting to be part of things. And all offseason, this season, he couldn’t wait for this moment, for the postseason and to contribute. Today was his moment. And I’m just very happy to see that he rose to the occasion and gave us a huge boost. This is something I know is going to propel him going forward.”
2025 NLDS: Tyler Glasnow’s golden moment in the sun was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.