Glasnow (back) could return at end of August

Glasnow was hit pretty hard and issued three walks, but he struck out eight and would have had a quality start if he hadn’t been brought back out to give up a double to start the seventh. The runner later scored off Alex Vesia. It’s the second time in 10 starts this season that Glasnow has allowed four runs. Thanks to the Dodgers’ comeback, he still hasn’t taken a loss while going 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA. He’ll face the Marlins next weekend.

It’s was always a bit unclear how exactly Lauer would fit into Los Angeles’ pitching equation heading into the postseason. He’s probably going to miss at least a few weeks, if not longer. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days. He was lit up for seven runs over three innings in a loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday night. It’s most likely going to be Emmet Sheehan coming up to fill his rotation spot against the Nationals on Sunday.

Lauer stranded a runner in the first inning, then gave up back-to-back solo homers to Thomas Saggese and Ramón Urías in the second. The Cardinals piled on five more runs on five hits, a walk, and a hit batter in the third inning. Lauer wouldn’t make it out for the fourth, ending his day at 63 pitches. He struck out two. The 31-year-old left-hander will look to bounce back when he takes a 5.23 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and a 72/35 K/BB ratio across 108 1/3 innings into a start against the Nationals in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Wrobleski, an All-Star starter this year, is expected to spend the rest of the season in the pen after missing the last two weeks with forearm inflammation. He allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings in his only rehab appearance for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

A rare lower-stress victory for the Dodgers, who had just gone 1-4 while playing five one-run games in a row. Glasnow had a bad first inning in his return from the IL last Tuesday against the Braves, but he’s been excellent in 11 innings since. Both hits he gave up today were singles, and he finished up with a 34 percent CSW while striking out six. He’ll take on the Nationals next time out.

It sounds highly unlikely that Ohtani will make his return to Los Angeles’ rotation this weekend based on Roberts adding that the two-way superstar isn’t feeling 100 percent physically due to ongoing left knee and right biceps issues. The club is expected to make a final decision following Saturday afternoon’s contest in Detroit. Regardless, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow doing the heavy lifting on Sunday. The general expectation remains that Ohtani will return to the Dodgers’ rotation in the near future, but it doesn’t sound imminent after Friday’s abbreviated bullpen session didn’t go exactly as anticipated. Simply put, the franchise can’t really afford to take any chances with the postseason right around the corner. There should be additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

Sasaki was pulled from Wednesday’s start against the Braves after the blister issue cropped up. No word yet on how long he’ll be shelved for, but he’ll miss at least one trip through the Dodgers’ rotation. Eric Lauer will move back from the bullpen to take his place in the club’s six-man rotation for the time being.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Ohtani is trending towards starting against the Tigers on Sunday. There should be a definitive update on his status leading into the weekend but all signs point to the generational talent making his first start for Los Angeles since early July. It sounds like there’s a possibility that Ohtani piggybacks with Tyler Glasnow in some capacity for workload reasons this weekend.

All of the runs came in the first, and he actually should have given up one more, but a wild pitch that would have scored Michael Harris II was wrongly called a foul ball. After that, though, Glasnow was terrific. He allowed just two singles and walked none over his final four innings, and his stuff was excellent throughout. There’s no guarantee he’ll remain healthy in September, but if he does, he could be a top 20 SP for the month.

After 3 1/2 months away, Glasnow will make his return from his back issues tonight against the Braves.