Glasnow grinds out 'off' feeling to toss quality start

KANSAS CITY -- After spending two months on the injured list to start the season and searching for a better feeling on the mound in his first few starts back, Tyler Glasnow appears to have found his footing.

Glasnow put together another strong performance despite not feeling like he had his best stuff, striking out seven and walking two batters over six innings in the Rays’ 6-1 win over the Royals in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium.

Glasnow didn’t pitch a clean inning Saturday afternoon, but he stranded seven runners and held the Royals hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position to earn his first win since June 14.

“I kind of felt off, and then I think as the innings went on, I kind of got back into a rhythm,” Glasnow said. “But I definitely think I had to battle today, and it ended up being a good game.”

In four starts since a 4 1/3-inning, six-run mess against the Orioles on June 20, Glasnow has recorded a 2.42 ERA with 38 strikeouts, five walks and 19 hits allowed over 22 1/3 innings. Saturday was another encouraging showing for Glasnow, who forced the Royals to whiff on 16 of their 48 swings against him on his way to his second quality start in nine outings this year.

“The last few starts have felt a lot more normal for me,” Glasnow said.

Glasnow said he couldn’t quite figure out why his stuff was a little bit off. His fastball velocity sat at 96 mph, down a bit from the 96.8 mph he averaged in his final start of the first half. It could have been the eight-day break between outings, or perhaps being pushed back to pitch a day game after Friday’s rainout, but it didn’t necessarily dull his effectiveness.

“Something was weird, but I'm glad I could go out there and compete,” Glasnow said. “Those are the ones, when you're not feeling good, [that] you kind of have to try and lock in and make sure it's not a bad game. And I'm glad I could get my team the win.”

Even more encouraging, Glasnow showed no signs of the hand and leg cramping issues that forced him to leave his last start after 88 pitches and 5 2/3 innings, the same issue that also affected him earlier this season. Glasnow said Thursday he saw a vascular specialist and underwent testing, but he didn’t expect it to be a problem moving forward.

The Rays needed Glasnow in top form, too, because rookie Alec Marsh kept them in check with a strong six-inning start of his own. Tampa Bay built a more comfortable lead in the eighth inning after Luke Raley and Josh Lowe capitalized on a wild stretch from Royals reliever Collin Snider, who walked the bases loaded after he threw 13 consecutive balls, but they struck out 11 times and walked just once against Marsh.

The club’s entire offense over the first seven innings came from solo homers by Jose Siri and Francisco Mejía, who was also behind the plate to corral Glasnow’s bouncing breaking balls.

“Any time the catcher catches Glasnow and we win, it's a nice game for the catcher,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Leading off the third inning, Siri launched a first-pitch slider out to left field to put the Rays on the board. Siri tacked on another homer in the ninth, giving him a team-leading 18 on the year, his second career multihomer game and his first two-homer performance since Sept. 13, 2021.

“I knew he had the power. Watching him play in the winter leagues, you see that he can hit,” Mejía said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “I think most of his strength is hitting for power, and you can see that he's making the adjustment and doing a good job.”

The Royals got one run back when Bobby Witt Jr. took Glasnow deep to center field with two outs in the fifth, and it looked like they might pull even when Salvador Perez sent Glasnow’s next pitch to the wall in center. But the hit was ruled a double due to fan interference, and Glasnow responded by striking out Kyle Isbel on a curveball well in front of the plate.

“I thought he competed really, really well,” Cash said of Glasnow. “Maybe not the sharpest that he wanted to be, but he got his breaking ball going early, which was encouraging, and then kind of settled in and limited their offense.”