Cold Hands, Hot Arm: Glasnow Deals as Dodgers Open Denver Series with 7–1 Win

wtrillo
Apr 17
2 min read

Benders don’t break in the Mile High City.

Or at least they’re not supposed to—especially not when it’s 35 degrees and you can’t feel your fingertips. Trying to spin a baseball in those conditions sounds more like a suggestion than a plan. For Tyler Glasnow, who has leaned more heavily on his curveball this season, it wasn’t exactly ideal.

Didn’t seem to matter.

Before the game, manager Dave Roberts called Glasnow “a different guy,” pointing to his growth over the past year and brushing off any concern about the conditions. Turns out, that wasn’t optimism—it was a preview.

Glasnow went out and authored seven innings of controlled, composed, and borderline unfair pitching in a place that rarely allows for any of that.

Exactly What the Dodgers Needed

Heading into a four-game set at Coors Field—still baseball’s version of a launching pad—the Dodgers needed innings. Not suggestions of innings. Not bullpen games disguised as plans.

Actual innings.

Glasnow delivered seven of them.

One run. Two hits. Seven strikeouts. Ninety-two pitches. And, maybe most importantly, a bullpen that got to sit back and watch for a change.

Jack Dreyer handled the final two innings without incident, which qualifies as a small victory in Denver regardless of opponent or temperature.

Muncy Stays Hot (Again)

While Glasnow was doing his part to keep the ball in the yard, Max Muncy was doing the opposite.

Muncy launched a pair of home runs and added a double, continuing what has quietly turned into another one of his patented streaks. After a slow start to the season, he’s now stacking multi-homer games like it’s part of the weekly routine.

Coors Field has always treated him well. He returned the favor.

Shohei Update: Still Not Out

In case anyone was wondering—and apparently some of you were—Shohei Ohtani taking a break from DH duties did not, in fact, end his on-base streak.

The obvious answer remains obvious.

Ohtani doubled to open the game, added a single in the second, and casually extended the streak to 49 consecutive games. With three games still to play in Denver, a ballpark where routine fly balls occasionally turn into sightseeing tours, that number doesn’t feel like it’s slowing down anytime soon.

Quiet Contributions, Loud Result

Will Smith chipped in with two hits and a pair of RBIs, and the Dodgers did what good teams tend to do in Colorado when given the chance:

They scored early, added on, and avoided making things interesting.

Where It Leaves Them

The 7–1 win pushes the Dodgers to 15–4, still perfect against National League opponents and still holding the best record in baseball.

It’s early, sure. But this is what it looks like when things are working: