Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers named Tyler Glasnow their Opening Day starter for the Seoul Series in South Korea, answering whether he or Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the nod.
Yamamoto is set to pitch the following day, and that’s likely to be the same order when the Dodgers return to the United States and play their domestic home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals roughly one week later.
The Dodgers acquired Glasnow this offseason in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and immediately signed the right-hander to a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension.
For Glasnow, it represented a return home to Southern California and fulfilled a dream of playing for the Dodgers after growing up watching them.
Now, he gets the start on Opening Day for a team that has arguably some of the highest expectations in MLB history, and he is excited for the opportunity, he said via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“It means everything,” Glasnow said of being selected to front the Dodgers’ rebuilt starting rotation. “Just to sign here, that all being a reality feels crazy. Then when they told me I was the Opening Day starter, I definitely felt a lot of pride and excitement.”
Glasnow will face off against San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish, who will become the first MLB pitcher to start a regular season game in South Korea due to the Dodgers’ status as the road team for the opener.
While Glasnow is part of the historic game as well, he will also be the first Dodgers’ pitcher to start on Opening Day in his first season with the club since Derek Lowe did it in 2005.
He also becomes the Dodgers’ sixth Opening Day pitcher in the last six seasons. Glasnow previously made an Opening Day start for the Rays in 2021 when he pitched six scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins.
Tyler Glasnow making final Cactus League start
Glasnow is slated to make his final Cactus League appearance on Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants.
He passed on pitching in a Cactus League game his last time out and instead opted to pitch in a “B” game as he prepares to make his first start.
In his first two outings, Glasnow pitched a combined 4.2 innings with one run allowed.
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