Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (elbow) back on the injured list

LOUIS- Dodgers star Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 15-day injured list with tendinitis in his right elbow just minutes before Friday night's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, dealing another blow to an injury-plagued rotation that the team has struggled to patch together.

Glasnow, who is 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 22 starts and has set career highs in strikeouts (168) and innings pitched (134), was scheduled to start Saturday night against the Cardinals. Instead, he was placed on the IL for the second time this season and Bobby Miller, who hasn't pitched for the Dodgers since July 9, will start in Glasnow's place.

Manager Dave Roberts said after Friday night's 7-6 win over the Cardinals that an MRI test showed no structural damage to Glasnow's elbow and that the right-hander is expected to return after his injured list expires or shortly thereafter.

Glasnow, who allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings in a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium last Sunday, was able to finish his bullpen workout between starts in Milwaukee, but the next day he developed elbow problems while catching.

“The reason we put him on the injured list is so we don't have to worry about how we manage him going forward,” Roberts said. “He fought tooth and nail to make the team. [on Saturday]but we have been very consistent in preparing the boys for the home stretch and he has played a big part in us finishing this season correctly.

“If he had started, I would have been on tenterhooks from the first pitch, and I don't think that's good for him or the team. We made the right decision. Tyler was really disappointed because he wanted to win the baseball, but I think as an organization, that was something we had to do.”

Glasnow, who was acquired from Tampa Bay and signed a five-year, $136.5 million extension in December, has a long injury history, including years of elbow problems that eventually led to Tommy John surgery in 2021. He missed two weeks in July due to back problems.

Glasnow has easily surpassed his previous record of 120 innings set last year, but Roberts is confident that once he returns, there will be no limits to the number of innings and pitches he throws during the final month of the season and the playoffs.

“When he comes back, I think the governor is free,” Roberts said. “That's the point of this process. He's not coming back until we feel like we can use him the way he's meant to be used, which is as a top player in the major leagues.”

Miller had a stellar rookie season last year, going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA with 119 strikeouts and 32 walks in 124⅓ innings in 22 starts, but in seven starts this season he is 1-2 with an 8.07 ERA.

Miller began the season in the rotation but only made three appearances in the starting lineup before being placed on the injured list and missing two months with shoulder inflammation. He struggled in four starts in June and July and was demoted to Triple-A.