ATLANTA –– In the past, the Dodgers might have been more worried.

About how Tyler Glasnow would return from yet another injury. About whether he could rediscover his dominant form from early season. About how he would handle the latest physical setback in a career that has been full of them.

“Things that were really out of his control got to him more than they should have,” manager Dave Roberts said of the old Glasnow, the one who could never seem to consistently live up to his potential.

Now, however, Roberts and the Dodgers have developed renewed faith in their former $136.5 million signing –– a belief that was put to the test immediately in his return from the injured list on Tuesday night.

After missing the last 3 ½ months with a back spasms problem that lingered far longer than initially expected, Glasnow was dealt early adversity in his comeback start against the Atlanta Braves, getting BABIP’d to death with four softly-hit singles in a three-run first inning.

It was the kind of sequence that, in the past, might have sent Glasnow spiraling.

This time, though, the newly-turned 33-year-old settled down, found a groove and didn’t allow any further damage over a five-inning, seven-strikeout outing at Truist Park.

“I just think that he’s come of age,” Roberts said. “He’s kind of coming into his own right now.”

Roberts has felt that way since last October, when Glasnow overcame another long-term injury (shoulder inflammation that cost him almost three months) to play a leading role on their postseason pitching staff.

During the World Series run, Glasnow had a 1.69 ERA in six outings. He came out of the bullpen three times, including for a save in Game 6 of the World Series. He maintained a level of consistency that had too often eluded him over his decade-long big-league career –– one in which he has never made more than 22 starts in a regular season (and even that was in 2024, when he missed the playoffs because of an elbow problem).

“The game slowed down [for him],” Roberts said. “Nothing spiked him. I think there was just a maturity in how he went about things. Coming out of the pen, something he’s never done really, certainly in the postseason, and performing the way he did. And then coming into this spring training, he just seemed like another level of confident that I just felt it was palpable.”

That indeed showed during the opening month of this season, when Glasnow went 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA in his first six starts.

He spoke repeatedly then of the comfort level he had with his delivery. 

He had hoped it was priming him for a potentially career-best year.

Instead, another campaign was quickly sidetracked again, after Glasnow left a May 6 start in Houston when his back started spasming.

The injury wasn’t believed to be serious at first. Glasnow even voiced optimism of being able to avoid the injured list altogether.

But when his discomfort lingered, the Dodgers opted for a conservative recovery process. Glasnow didn’t resume a throwing program until midway through the summer. He only went on a minor-league rehab assignment at the start of this month.

Then again, all that really matters for the Dodgers is having Glasnow at full strength for the postseason –– when he could either be a traditional starter, or provide a swing option out of the bullpen again if the rest of the team’s rotation (including Shohei Ohtani, who is a “possibility” to start on Sunday, per Roberts) enters October fully healthy.

And after he impressed on his rehab stint, which was punctuated with eight- and nine-strikeout performances with triple-A Oklahoma City the last two weeks, he rejoined the Dodgers bristling with his early-season confidence.

“I was so bummed, like we all were, to see him go down,” Roberts said pregame. “But even in the last couple weeks, seeing him coming into today’s start, he just seemed at peace.”

Tuesday didn’t begin easily, with Glasnow needing 35 pitches to get through his three-run first inning.

After that, however, he showcased his improved mentality.

He struck out the side in the second. He retired nine in a row before stranding singles in the fourth and fifth. And while a limited pitch count forced an early hook from Roberts, he gave himself something to build on entering the stretch run of the season.

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