Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow heads back to the injured list

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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.

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Freddie Freeman milestone

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman high-fives a clubhouse attendant while next to manager Dave Roberts.

Freeman played in his 2,000th career big-league game Friday night, the 15-year veteran becoming the 252nd major leaguer to reach that milestone.

“When you’re a kid, you never know if you’re going to get one game in the big leagues,” said Freeman, who entered Friday with 2,236 career hits, 338 homers, 502 doubles and 1,214 RBIs. “I obviously want to play more than 2000 games, so I think it’s a stepping stone, but to take a step back and realize how hard it is …

“That means teams want you to play every day, you’re playing good enough for the team to allow you to play, you have good health, you’re posting every day, taking care of yourself … so there is a lot to go into, and I do think it’s a really cool thing.”

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto injury update

Yamamoto, out since June 16 because of a rotator-cuff strain, threw to batters in a 17-pitch simulated game in Busch Stadium Friday afternoon, a workout Roberts described as “good.”

Yamamoto, who went 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 14 starts before injuring his shoulder, said he will need at least two more live batting-practice sessions — probably lasting two and three innings — before going on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.