Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow They have the biggest names and salaries in the current Dodgers rotation, and rightly so. Yamamoto, signed to a 12-year, $325 million contract, is 6-2 with a 3.32 ERA, and Glasnow, signed to a five-year, $136.5 million contract, is 6-3 with a 3.04 ERA, both at 12 it starts.
But a little-known 25-year-old right-hander whose $742,500 salary is just above the major league minimum has been as good as the team’s most recognizable pitching stars. Gavin Stone emerging as a rotation mainstay after failing to make a mark in the majors in four shaky stints as a rookie in 2023.
Pitching on four days’ rest for the second time this season, Stone allowed four hits in five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and two walks to lead the Dodgers to a victory. 4-0 victory about the Colorado Rockies in front of a crowd of 48,251 Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
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Eleven starts into his second season, Stone is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA.
“You know, it’s fun to watch him grow and mature,” manager Dave Roberts said. “His poise about him, his command of the ball, the way he attacks hitters and gets the first strike… he’s just built that trust with everyone that when he gets on the mound, you expect to win.”
Stone, a fifth-round pick out of the University of Central Arkansas in 2020, was a bit shaky in his first four starts of the season, going 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA, but has been dominant in seven starts since April 26. , with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 1.64, allowing 33 hits, striking out 31 and walking nine in 44 innings.
He hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts, allowing three hits in seven scoreless innings against the New York Mets last Tuesday and pitching another gem on Sunday.
“I see the confidence level in making throws,” catcher Austin Barnes said of Stone. “Now he is not afraid of being defeated in the area. He trusts his things. I think he has a good pitch mix right now.
“His sinker to righties is pretty good, his slider has come a long way and they mesh well with each other. Then you have that original change. He has three pitches to keep hitters off balance, but he also throws the ball hard. He is in a very good situation.”
Stone did not allow a Rockies runner to reach second base until the fifth inning, when Jacob Stallings singled and Charlie Blackmon hit a two-out double down the first base line to put runners on second and third.
But Stone got Ezequiel Tovar to line out to the first baseman. Freddie Freemanwho positioned himself perfectly in the hole, to end the inning and preserve a 3-0 lead.
With a six-pitch combination led by a 94.4 mph four-seam fastball, an 88.5 mph slider, a 94.9 mph sinker and an 86.8 mph changeup, Stone induced 15 swinging strikes. among his 75 pitches, nine of them with sliders. He threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 20 batters.
“We leaned on the slider a little bit more today, that was a great pitch, and Barnsey called a great game,” Stone said. “I felt good about the catch before the game, and I felt like they were a fastball-hitting team.”
Barnes, backing up starter Will Smith, made an early adjustment when he noticed Rockies hitters looking for first-pitch fastballs.
“They were swinging early, like attacking the first pitch, and the second time, you don’t want them to get free throws on a heater over the plate,” Barnes said. “So we mixed it up (the slider) a little bit later in the game. I just thought they were aggressive.”
right handed Michael Grove replaced Stone to start the sixth and pitched two hitless innings, striking out two and walking one, and the left-hander Alex Vesia He retired the team in order with two strikeouts in the eighth.
Daniel Hudson pitched a scoreless ninth, the game ended with third baseman Kiké Hernández teaming with second baseman Miguel Rojas for a slick double play that ended the game on Kris Bryant’s groundout.
Mookie Betting He led off the bottom of the first with a 354-foot fly ball that went over the short left field wall for his ninth home run of the season and first in 50 at-bats dating back to May 17.
His 52nd career home run moved Betts within one of Craig Biggio for fourth place on baseball’s all-time leadoff home run list, led by Rickey Henderson (81), George Springer (57), Alfonso Soriano (54 ) and Biggio. (53).
Two batters later, Freeman increased the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0 when he hit his seventh home run of the season high enough over the center field wall to clear the glove of Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle, who timed his jump. perfectly and actually got the tip of his glove on the ball a few feet over the fence.
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Doyle fell backwards onto the warning track and Freeman slowed around second base, unsure whether Doyle had made a spectacular catch, before second base umpire Larry Vanover circled his index finger to signal. indicate home run.
“I did it, I did it,” Roberts said, when asked if he thought Doyle robbed Freeman of a home run. “That guy can really hold his own.”
Freeman sparked a comeback in the third inning off Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber with a walk and a stolen base. Teoscar Hernández struck out, but Andy Pages walked and Rojas hit an RBI single to left-center field for a 3-0 lead.
The Dodgers added an insurance run in the eighth, an inning that Jason Heyward and Barnes started with singles. Betts flied out to first baseman Bryant, who made a good catch as he crashed into the screen in foul territory.
Heyward and Barnes alerted and advanced the play, allowing Heyward to score on Freeman’s sacrifice fly to center for a 4-0 lead.
“That play by Jason to run the bases on that fly ball was a real one-on-one baseball play,” Roberts said. “That got him into third position, which ultimately created that situation for Freddie. “That race was great.”
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.