Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow back on injured list because of elbow issue

ST. LOUIS — Dodgers ace Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right-elbow tendinitis just minutes before Friday night’s series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium, dealing another blow to an injury-ravaged rotation that the team has struggled to patch together.

Glasnow, who is 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 22 starts, with career highs in strikeouts (168) and innings (134), was scheduled to start Saturday night against the Cardinals.

Bobby Miller, who hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since July 9, will start in Glasnow’s place after being brought to St. Louis and placed on the taxi squad Friday.

The Dodgers needed to make a roster move before Friday night’s game to clear a spot for left-hander Justin Wrobleski, who was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City to start Friday night.

Manager Dave Roberts said Miller would be activated Saturday to “add some length” to the pitching staff, but when he added that there was a chance that Miller could start on Saturday, he was immediately asked if Glasnow, who missed two weeks of July because of back tightness, was OK.

“I don’t want to go too far into it,” Roberts said. “Right now, Bobby basically will do anything for us.”

Miller had a breakout rookie season in 2023, going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 22 starts, with 119 strikeouts and 32 walks in 124 ⅓ innings, but he is 1-2 with an 8.07 ERA in seven starts this season.

Miller opened the season in the rotation but made only three starts before being placed on the injured list, missing two months because of shoulder inflammation. He struggled in four starts in June and July and was demoted.

Glasnow, who was acquired from Tampa Bay and signed to a five-year, $136.5-million extension in December, has a history of injuries, including years of elbow troubles that eventually led to Tommy John surgery in 2021, but there was no news on the severity of the injury before Friday’s game.